Painful Love
by Kc495
Summary: A long time ago a dangerous curse was paced on the Hitachiin family. One that changes them completely. There's only one way to break the curse and that's for them to fall in love with the ones who placed the curse on them over 500 years ago. The Nekozawa's. All is doomed for the Hitachiin's until a curtain brown haired lawyer comes around. But can she handle a family of vampires?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I Do Not Own Ouran High School Host Club

 **Summary:** A dangerous curse was placed on the Hitachiin family, all from a woman's jealousy. Hikaru and Kaoru, a pair of twins, have ended up with bad problems because of what their ancestors had done. Hikaru, a man in his twenties has a heart-wrenching past, and his time on earth is running out. Until a certain Lawyer comes along, who may or may not be what his family has been praying for.

 **Pairing:** Hikaru H. / Haruhi F.

 **Rating:** T - For minor Foul Language and hints of mature themes.

* * *

 _A long time ago, a curse was placed on our family._

 _It was a long, long, long time ago, and we still don't know all the details. It was between old relatives of our and the Nekozawa's. They were hateful people and the later generations (us) are the ones who suffer from it._

 _Their mistakes and jealously has brought upon great tragedy to our family. There has been a lot of sadness and death throughout the years, and there isn't any way we can fix it._

 _There isn't any spell, word, action, or any sort of magic that can reverse it. It's permanent, except for one thing..._

 _The families together must produce a male and a female, and if they do, for the curse to be lifted, those two must fall in love. The families being, we, Thee Hitachiin's, and they, the Neozawa's._

 _The Nekozawa's however, happen to be our worse enemy, and we, theirs._

 _I guess I should back up a little... Or rather, back up near to five hundred years ago. Back to the Sengoku period._

 _Our ancestor, Aritomo Hitachiin, from many generations ago, fell in love with a woman, who was the ancestor of the Nekozawa's, Fumiko Nekozawa. Old stories that have been passed down from generations between families, have said this..._

 _Fumiko Nekozawa fell in love with Aritomo first. 'Love at first sight' she called it. Neither were from very rich families, and nothing was keeping them from being together. For a long time they were happy. They were going to get married and talked about a family._

 _Then one day, there was a celebration and Aritomo got bored. He found himself around other woman and realized that Fumiko wasn't who he wanted to be with. He didn't want to be tied down to just one female. He wanted more out of life, so he left her alone._

 _That wasn't what bothered her, she loved him so she let him go to do what he wanted._

 _Two years later, he came back. But unlike she thought, he didn't come back to be with her afterwards. He came back with another woman. And they had a baby._

 _While he had a family, she was alone. She didn't find anyone else until later in life. Though, before that, she had gone into a deep depression and despised Aritomo and his whole family. She had vowed some sort of revenge so no other member of the Hitachiin family would ever deceive another woman._

 _She wanted to make so that we'd never break another heart._

 _There was a witch, and Fumiko had her place a curse on Aritomo. A curse that would be passed down forever. Aritomo's descendants were then, and still are tortured with a curse that enables us from breaking people, but causes us to hurt not only them, but ourselves, too._

 _Simply put... Fumiko's curse turned all of Aritomo's descendants into borderline vampires with a very complicated virus._

 _And I, the youngest of thee Hitachiin's newest generation suffer from it as well as my twin brother._

 _But my older brother is not only suffering from being confined into finding love that he doesn't want._

 _...He's dying from it._

* * *

"Oi! Kaoru..."

"Hmm?"

"You're spacing out."

"Sorry."

"And you're staring at me. Hasn't mom taught you that, that's rude?"

"Yeah, I was just thinking, sorry."

Turning his head around to look at his glass of sparkling water, the eldest of the Hitachiin twins took a deep breath and leaned into the couch, sinking into the cushions to get comfortable.

He lowered his brow and clenched his jaw, looking discouraged. "You're thinking about me..."

Kaoru frowned. "I can't help it."

"I'm fine."

"You're not."

"You're right, he's not. Hikaru darling, honestly, if you're going to get anywhere in life you've got to find a girl." A female voice chuckled behind their heads. They turned as watched their grandmother set herself down in her usual spot on her chair. "

"And you all know why I don't." Hikaru grumbled a growl deep in his throat. "We're related but could we just avoid conversing about my business? It's getting annoying."

"It's getting worse."

He turned to his little brother, his eyebrow twitching. "Please, when has there ever been an incident recently? Obviously the problem has died down."

"It's been impossible for there to be a recent problem, Hika, all our relatives either got married before twenty three, or have died from a natural causes before nineteen. You and Kaoru are the only ones left other than your children (god only knows when there will be any), and Kaoru's married. You're not."

Hikaru glared at their mother as she ruffled his hair from behind and strutted her way to the couch. He ignored her completely.

"Which means you'll be the next recent problem." Kazuha pointed out, (their grandmother), as she grabbed the neck of the wine bottle that was sitting aside on the table. "Things don't just die down in this family, Hikaru. You know that."

He looked away from her, slumping against the arm of the love seat he sat on. Kaoru looked at him and pressed his lips to the rim of his glass.

"We're not trying to irritate you, Hikaru. We're just worried."

"Well stop worrying, People die eventually, don't they?"

Kazuha shrugged, sipping her drink. "How does it feel though, to know that this problem can be solved so easily?"

Kaoru gave her a warning look. "Grandmother, not now."

"I don't want a girlfriend." Hikaru replied solemnly, clenching his fingers around his cup. "I decided that a while ago."

"She doesn't have to be your girlfriend," she sighed, averting her attention to her quiet husband who finally made his presence noticeable. "Hell, you don't even need to like her, or know her name."

"And then what? Be suck forever with some chick who doesn't even like me?" Hikaru moved his gaze towards his brother. "You know what that does to you."

Kaoru pouted. "This is about you, don't mention my marriageable troubles."

"Twenty-four and your wife hates your guts, how does that make you feel?"

"...Low blow, bro."

"Then ignore my problems. I'm not dying. Everyone here is just too worried about what I do."

"But Hika... You _are_ dying."

Hikaru opened his mouth, but before he could get any words out, there was a knock at the door. He closed his mouth and shot his mother a suspicious glare. She shrugged towards his expression and looked towards her husband. Who only did the same thing.

"Is your other relatives here again?" Hikaru groaned, raising his lip as he looked at his twin.

Kaoru looked at him. "Not that I know of. They didn't tell me."

Kazuya groaned. "Tell them to go away."

After the room became quiet, Hikaru waited for someone to get up and answer the door. As he looked around the room at all his family members, he noticed that none of them showed any interest in getting up. He looked over towards his grandfather who was pouring himself a glass of water and his grandfather looked back at him, tipping his eyebrows.

"Alright fine, I'll tell them." He sighed, standing up. "I feel like I'm the only one in this family who actually does anything."

His mother snickered. "Nah, we just talk behind your back when you leave."

Hikaru rolled his eyes and left the room.

Not even making sure his brother was out of ear shot, Kaoru slumped back into his cushion on the love seat and rested his elbow on the arm of it. He furrowed his brow and let out a long stream of breath from his mouth.

"...They're going to try and take Mayuki away, _again_."

Kazuya handed her husband her cup to re fill it. "They can take her for all I care."

"You know what'll happen."

" _Eh_."

"You're so cold hearted, grandmother."

"It's your fault her parents don't like you."

Kaoru pouted, looking away. _No, It's Fumiko's fault..._

 _It's all her fault._

* * *

Hikaru walked through the large hall of the mansion as he made his way to the door. His feet dragged beneath him until he reached it.

He took a deep breath before reluctantly turning the knob of one of the polished double doors. His scowling face was what he let be the first thing they'd see.

"Go away." He said, without a thought. "Mayuki isn't here, so buz-..."

His words stalled in his throat. His brother's in-laws weren't there. He opened the door wider and saw a short woman all alone. The sides of her short brown hair was pulled back behind her head leaving the rest to lay against her shoulders. She was dressed in a professional dark purple skirt suit.

He raised his eyebrow at her. She wasn't looking at him. She was watching the gardener trim the hedges. She was holding a orange file against her chest and he made his own asummtial as to why she was there.

"Whatever you're selling, we're not interested." He grumbled, catching her attention. She turned her head and looked at him, looking a little relieved.

"Oh good, I thought no one was home." She sighed. Her brown eyes fluttered a few blinks. "Do you know where I can find Mr. Hitachiin? Is he home?"

Hikaru tilted his head. "...It depends. Are you one of my ex girlfriends from college?"

"...No. I don't think so."

"Do you want to repopulate with me?"

She looked over her shoulder, then back to him. "...No?"

"Then he might be." He muttered, leaning his head back closing the door slightly. "Kaoru! There's a female at door!"

"...No, Um..." She bit her lip, pulling a lingering piece of her hair behind her ear. "I'm looking for a... _Hikaru_ Hitachiin."

"..."

She blinked again.

He frowned, gripping the door knob. " _Why_?"

"It's personal business. I need to talk to him. Is he here or not?"

Hikaru shrugged. "Nope!" He slammed the door shut.

But it didn't shut all the way. He looked down and noticed the woman had put her foot between the wall and the door. He took a deep breath and opened it again.

He glared. "When I slam the door, you're supposed to go away."

She pulled her foot back, adjusting her shirt. "You have no idea how many doors I've had slammed in my face. Now, could I came in and talk to him? I have important issues to discuss with. Mr. Hitachiin."

"The only ones referred as Mr. Hitachiin, here, are my father and my grandfather, both of which are both married so... best of luck to you, bye!"

Just as he was about to shut the door on her again, she grabbed the other side of the door knob and kept it open by pushing it towards him.

He looked down at her hands and glared, trying to push it back.

They ended up fighting over which direction the door would go. He, of course, was stronger than her so it was to his advantage, but the condensation on his hands from holding his cold glass earlier turned against him and made his hands slip from the knob.

Her voice strained. "I don't care! Just let me talk to someone with the name Hitachiin, so I can go-.. Eek!"

Still pushing, her feet slipped over the bottom door rim and she fell forward. The door hit him in the head. He exclaimed, being knocked back. He was barely stable when he opened his mouth to swear into her face, but even his words were cut off as her body crashed into him.

They both made a sound that didn't necessarily sound human as they fell to the floor with her landing on top of him.

His head luckily didn't hit anything, so his mouth could still run.

"Dammit woman! You _do_ want my babies. Get off!"

She gasped, pulling her hair out of her face that had come undone. "I'm sorry, sir! I-... I wasn't-"

"Hikaru, why are you making so much noise? You're going to-... Oh dear god! Hikaru not on the floor! We repopulate in private!"

Hikaru just laid there as the girl straightened herself up. He looked up and saw his brother standing there above them. He glared and got up himself.

"Way to blow it, Kao."

She turned to Hikaru, her face pinched in a frown. " _You're_ Hikaru Hitachiin?"

"The one and only." Kaoru grinned, holding his hand out to her to take. "Did my brother try to take advantage of you? Sorry, he's really nice when you get to know him."

"I bet." She mused, standing up, puling down her shirt. "I was hoping someone more rational, but considering what you're wanted for, I shouldn't have gotten my hopes so high."

Kaoru watched his brother fix his hair. "Wanted? What's he wanted for?"

"I'm sorry, that was unprofessional." She took a deep breath, picking up her file. "Mr. Hitachiin is wanted in court for a few violations. Nothing serious, but he's ignored all of his parking violations for the last two years."

Kaoru looked at his brother with his hand on his hips. "For shame, Hikaru. I told you, the blue lines are for the handicap, not for VIP parking."

" _What_?"

"You haven't paid for any of your tickets or violations in the last twenty-three months. You're wanted in court in two months. To be more specific, in August."

Hikaru threw his head back. "Call my lawyer."

"...I _am_ your lawyer."

He looked back at her as if she had personal offended him. "What?"

She sighed, blinking a few times before pulling out a pile of papers out of her file. "Haruhi Fujioka. You weren't present during the last court hearing, so the court presented a lawyer for you. That's me."

Kaoru eased closer to his brother, moving his lips to his ear. Whispering. "Hika... She's a female."

"I know she's a female." Hikaru swatted him away, before returning the to her strange look. " _One_ , I didn't know about any court hearing. _Two_ , no one told me."

"Um... it was two weeks ago. Last Saturday."

"You're lying."

"No... I'm _not_."

Hikaru turned to his brother, then back at Haruhi. "...We don't allow women in this household. If you have business, contact my intern."

"Don't be silly, there's plenty of women here." Kaoru nudged his brother in the arm before locking elbows with the brunette. "Mother likes to say that women are powerful in this family. And in certain ways, they are. Come, come. We'll talk _all_ about, Hikaru. His faults, his flaws, his type. Do you want to see his baby pictures?"

"...Um," Haruhi hesitated, being pulled by him. "I just came here for business."

"Of course, Of course, _business_. How about some tea?"

"Kaoru!"

"No. I really just need to-"

"Stay for dinner?"

"Well I-... _No_. I just need to work out some things with your brother. I don't have time for-"

"Eh, sure you do. Business and dinner. That's how the family is here most of the time anyway."

Standing in the middle of the hall, with the door still wide open, Hikaru stared at his brother, watching him practically drag the strange woman, who just suddenly decided to come, over to the main room.

His expression hardened into a firm, glare. His golden eyes darkened as he heard his brother talk to her in the distance. Obviously his brother missed the hint when he had said 'no women allowed'.

He closed his eyes and a foggy vision of long silky black hair flashed in front of him. He opened his eyes as he heard his mother squeal.

He clenched his fist.

 _She can't stay..._

"Hika! come! Come entertain your guest!"

He grumbled, walking towards the living room.


	2. Chapter 2

**Painted Black**

* * *

"So my son got into some trouble with the law?"

"Not necessarily. Just some unpaid tickets here and there. I'm just here so he doesn't go to jail."

Kazuya looked over at Hikaru who was standing on the far end of the room with his arms crossed. "Dying in jail, that'd suck."

Hikaru shot her a look that silently told her to shut up, but she didn't notice, or maybe just didn't care.

Haruhi didn't get the hint and looked down at her file. "Um, I really don't plan on being here long. I just wanted to drop these off. I can go, I don't want to be a bother."

"Exactly, I'll show you out." Hikaru piped up, throwing his arm out towards the doorway. "It's getting late. wouldn't want you driving back to wherever you came from, in the _dark_."

"It's barely four thirty." Kaoru shrugged, wiggling his fingers at his brother's words. "Honestly, if you were a bother we could have gotten rid of you already. Stay for dinner? We're uh... We'll have the maid cook something."

Haruhi tightened her legs as she sat between the twins mother and grandmother. Her hands were beginning to sweat as she clutched the file tighter. "I really can't. I have to go home for dinner. I cook for my father."

He gasped, as though that was truly a surprise worth talking about. "Did ya hear that Hika? She _cooks_ for her father."

"I can hear, Kaoru."

"Isn't that nice?"

"Just peachy."

Yazuha scooted closer to Haruhi, patting her elbow. "Just so you know, the one over there is married but Hikaru is totally single."

"Mom!"

"What? Just talking. If you don't like girl talk then don't listen."

"I'm perfectly fine being single. Let me rephrase that... I _like_ being single."

"Oh _please_ , darling. You're miserable."

" _No_ I'm _not_. And I think that's my choice."

"Trust me, he's _dying_ for a girlfriend." Kaoru arched his brow, ignoring his brother's merciful flare in his eyes. "When are you free? Wanna come over for Christmas?

"...I think I'm just gonna go." Haruhi leaned forward, helping herself off of sofa. It took her awhile before she managed to untangle herself from the two woman she was between.

Kaoru struggled to get out of his own chair. "Wait! We haven't talked about his favorite foods! How do you know what you'd cook him in your first year of marriage?!"

"I'm leaving." Her voice strained as she was finally released from Yazuha's tight grip on her hand. She sped walked out of all their hands until she got to the doorway, where Hikaru was standing.

She huffed and held out the file of paperwork to him.

"Here." She held it against his chest, almost making him stumble backwards. "Take it. The first five pages need to be filled out with your name, call me when you're done."

"Are you sure you don't want to stay for dinner, darling?" Yazuha said to her as she walked away.

"No! I mean-... No, I can't. I'm sorry."

Haruhi looked up at Hikaru, but he returned her gaze with a hard scowl. One that was crawling with the silent word of ' _get out_ '.

She made sure he was holding the file before turning to the doorway. "Remember to come to the court hearing in August. Maybe we can go somewhere more private next time to actually talk about... _business_."

He smirked. "Don't bet on it."

Hikaru watched her for a moment, making sure she was going the right way, before turning to his family. He gave them a cold angry stare that made the room freeze like ice before following the brunette to the front door.

Haruhi took a deep breath, straightening her jacket that was mussed during each greeting session with each member.

"Your family is very interesting, Mr. Hitachiin."

"You have no idea. Trust me, I'd murder them all, but I'm not very good at making deaths accidental. They're quite messy."

"Fortunately for you, I don't think I can mentally, or physically stand them, so I don't think I'll be having home visits anymore."

"I think that would be for the best." Hikaru held the door open for her. " _Ta,_ _Ta._ "

She nodded, looking at him oddly as he moved his arm outwards, as though showing her the way out. "You especially. Please don't forget to fill out that paperwork. Either you come down to my firm, or I come here to pick them up."

Hikaru looked at her with a twitchy brow as she dug through her pocket of her shirt. He stood there, not moving his hands as she held out a card.

He didn't move to grab it. "I don't take things from people. I pay people to do that for me."

She sighed and leaned over, placing her business card on the table near the door that held a potted plant inside a ridiculously expensive looking vase.

"I supposed I'll see you later, Mr. Hitachiin. Tell your family I appreciate their hospitality."

"Hmm, if I told them that they'd hold a knife to my throat and make me keep you here forever."

"I guess they're really friendly."

"No. They're a bunch of jack asses who don't know how to mind their own damn business... But I suppose it's the same thing."

Haruhi tensed up as she walked passed him to head out onto the large front patio. "I'll see you tomorrow, Mr. Hitachiin."

Without replying to her, he waited until she turned around before slamming the door.

He took a deep breath. "I don't think so." He turned around, and gasped. His brother was right behind him and they brushed shoulders.

"Honestly, Hikaru. Don't talk to her so romantically like that, you'll sweep her right off her feet in no time." Kaoru rolled his eyes, grumbling sarcastically. "What's happen to you? I remember you being such a romantic in college."

"I will personally murder you, with the sharpest object I can find. And I will blame it on the gardeners dog, you pain in my ass." Hikaru said, not very quietly. "What was that?"

"I like her. When's she comin' back?"

"Never. At least not around any of you. What is the matter with you blurting all my personal issues towards her? She's an outsiders and a complete stranger. "

Kaoru sighed, throwing his arms up as he followed his brother, just as he walked away from him. "It's not the eighteenth century anymore, Hikaru. No one says 'outsider' anymore. That's weird."

"In this family, it's never gone away."

"You know you thought about it the second you opened the door to her. Admit it."

Hikaru turned around, meeting his brother's gaze almost instantly. "The only thing I thought about, when I opened the door, was the reason why I hate woman. Had it not been for a stupid female, nothing bad would have happened. And we wouldn't be stuck like this for the rest of our lives."

Kaoru glowered. His node being inches away from his twin's. "Just because I made a stupid mistake, doesn't mean that'd happen to you. You're the one who got yourself in this situation. Had you been a little less selfish with Remiko, everyone wouldn't be all stressed out."

Hikaru's heart faltered a heartbeat. And the second he had mentioned her name, Kaoru knew he had said something he shouldn't have. Hikaru didn't even bother to try and argue with him. He just walked away.

Kaoru hesitantly followed. "I'll I'm saying is that... You-"

"I _what_? I need a girlfriend?" Hikaru turned around. His eyes foggy and cold. "I don't _want_ one. I don't _need_ one. I will never _have_ one. Ren doesn't exist anymore, so don't make it sound like it was her fault."

"I never said it was her fault." Kaoru argued, sounding offended. "You're the one who let her go. You know how important _love_ is in this family just as much as everyone else does. I don't know why you're being so difficult about this."

"It isn't _love_ in this family, It's _fake_. Fumiko didn't want us to find true love, she just wanted all of us dead. And you know what? She's done a pretty damn good job at that so far."

"It's only fake because we don't have enough time to make it real. And for most of the family it turned out okay. Grandmother barely knew grandfather's relatives when they got married. They've been married for over forty years."

Hikaru huffed. "It doesn't matter how long you're given. She made us monsters. It was both yours and Mayuki's choice to get married at twenty-two, but look where you're at now."

Kaoru's face fell. "...Our situation isn't even on the same boat as you."

"At least you get where I'm coming from."

Kaoru didn't say anything more as he watched his brother walk away, and this time, he let him. He stood at the bottom of the long windy staircase, listening to his twin's footsteps.

He knew what he was doing was wrong and that he shouldn't mess with his brother's love life, but he couldn't help it. He loved his brother too much to not to, and somewhere in the world, there was going to be a person who was going to have the _effect_ on his twin, and everything was going to be okay, but Hikaru wasn't going to have anything to do with it. He didn't want to be in another relationship.

If the virus wasn't so bad, he wouldn't be so worried about his brother, but it was, and being this way was the only chance they had to save him.

Just then, he heard a slam of the front door. It hadn't been more than ten minutes since Haruhi left, but he watched her car drive off so he knew it wasn't her. His head perked up and he turned around, his lips curved slightly.

He stuck his hands into his pockets and walked back to the door. His eyes lit up as he saw his wife taking her bag off her shoulder.

"Mayuki," his voice hitched as her name rolled off his tongue. "There you are. You were gone all afternoon, where were you?"

She didn't look at him as she tucked a small lock of her black hair behind her ear. "Out."

"...I know you were out, but where were you? _Out_?"

"With my sister."

Kaoru made a face. "... _Oh_."

Mayuki still didn't look at him. "She kept going on and on about how I should file for divorce..." She smirked, tilting her head as she looked at him. "But I can't do that, can I?"

He sighed. "You could have just ended it at that, you don't have to mention what she told you. She doesn't like me."

"I know."

Kaoru was silent as he watched her close the hall closet after she shooed away a maid. "Well, next time could you tell me at least if you go somewhere? You weren't answering any of my calls. I was worried about you."

She looked at his as though he was stupid. "I didn't want to talk to you."

"I kinda guessed that, but still, you should tell me."

"Why would I tell you, if I don't want you to know?"

He held his hands up, indicating that he gave up the argument. "Fine, do what you want. But the next time you leave for longer than forty-eight hours, I'll call the police to go find you."

She huffed, turning around. "And you'd be the person to do something like that, wouldn't you?"

"Had you not tried to hurt yourself a couple of months ago, I wouldn't be so uptight."

Mayuki turned towards him and glared, but all he gave her was a disappointed frown. He reached for her hand, but she jerked her arm away from his touch and turned around.

He knew he wasn't allowed to touch her, but he thought that maybe she had forgotten about it.

He guessed not.

Kaoru sighed, letting his arm drop. He stood there for a few moments, thinking of what he'd do next before walking away. Not knowing that his brother was at the top of the stairs, leaning on the railing, as he watched them.

* * *

Scratching her head, messing up her hair as she pulled it out of her hair clips, Haruhi took a deep breath and jabbed her key into the front door. It didn't even click, which told her that the door was already unlocked.

She gave the door knob a weird grimace but she didn't think too much of it as she opened it anyway.

The minute the door was closed behind her she threw herself against it and tugged her blazer off. She threw it over a small stool that was off to the side and yawned.

"Oh, Haruhi, you look like just like your mother used to when she'd come home from work." A purposely high voice came from around the corner.

She looked up at her father, still in his wig. "I doubt mom ever had to deal with what I had to do, today."

Her father stuck his head around the corner of the wall, dressed fully in his dress and fancy shoes. "Bad day, Haruhi?"

"Not really. Just interesting. I'm so tired now. I didn't know that Mr. Hitachiin guy was going to be such a pain."

Her father frowned. "Is he a jerk? Tell him to come here for a visit I'll punch him for you. I know how soft your hands are."

"Please don't punch my client. And it was mostly his family who made me feel weird." She sighed, walking into the room. "I'm doing this as a course case, for experience."

He sighed, pulling the side of his hair out of his face with his hand. "You need a man so you don't have to work so hard. You'll fall down dead. You're going to school _and_ you're working as an attorney's assistant. You need a man who you can live off of instead."

"...I don't need a man. I need a bath."

"No I'm serious. A man who you can depend on so you don't have to worry about anything. My co-worker might now someone."

She snorted, kicking her shoes off, replacing them with slippers. "Please, no. I was already almost set up once today."

"Eh?"

"My clients family tried to set me up with him."

"Ah! See? I bet they think the same thing."

"I'm not trying to get involved with that family." Haruhi tugged her apron off the hook off on the kitchen wall. "There's something about them that's really weird... but I dunno what it is."

Her father shrugged, fluffing his long red wig. "Eh, there's always gonna be weirdo's."

She tipped her eyebrows. She turned to the cabinets and grabbed a pot. "I guess but I thought that since their family is worth millions, I thought that they'd be professional. At least a little."

Had he been drinking something just then, he would have spit it out. "Millions? Don't tell me they're _thee_ Hitachiin's. Yazuha Hitachiin, the famous fashion designer!"

"...I think so. Their house is huge."

"Oh my gosh, Haruhi you didn't tell me!"

"Well I didn't think you'd be interested..."

He gasped, hands on his cheeks. "Not interested? _She's_ huge. And her sons model everything she designs! They're all over the magazines, I think I have one. If only I could afford one of her outfits. I'd die! Haruhi you have to get me her autograph!"

Haruhi turned and raised her brow up nearly to her hairline. "You've got to be kidding."

"I'm serious. Oh! You should invite her over for dinner!"

"I don't even know them personally, and there's no way _Yazuha Hitachiin_ would come over here to eat dinner. Our house is probably smaller than her bathroom alone."

Her father to a deep breath. His face looked red from excitement as he grabbed the skirt of his dress. "And she was wants you date her son!?"

"...Well, I dunno. She mentioned it and _her_ mother said it and his brother and..."

He threw his arms up, huffing heavily from his painted lips. "Since when have I raised such an ungrateful child? Haruhi! Yazuha asked _you_ to date _her_ son. Oh my god."

"Not a big deal, do you know how many times I've been asked out since college? I don't want-"

"Don't want?! Have you seen her sons?! They're gorgeous."

"...Yeah... I kinda did... He's my client."

"Ahh!"

"Dad! contain yourself. They're crazy. I don't plan on going back there."

He gasped loudly this time, looking completely horrified. "They're not crazy! You're crazy!"

She opened her mouth wide as she stared at her cross-dressed father. "But you just said-"

"Your wedding dress would be designed by Yazuha Hitachiin! Haruhi you'd look gorgeous!"

"You're not helping!"


	3. Chapter 3

**The Black Heart**

* * *

"Umehito, sir. Your older cousin seems to be sick again. She cannot even get out of bed."

Umehito, dressed in a heavy black cloak, turned to his maid slowly and smirked under his dark wig.

"Pity," he mumbled. His fingers stroking his hand puppet, Beelzenef. "it's happening again.

The maid, dressed in black, stared at her employer with concern. "Yes, it's very serious this time. I don't think She'll make it very much longer."

The male blonde nodded, smirking at the floor. "A terrible way out is it not? The curse of the black heart."

The maid said nothing, and continued to stare at her young master. Watching him closely. His long slender fingers traced the seams of his cat puppet, along it's eyes and hands. He made it nod as though replying to him.

"Being taken so young, and with very little left done in their lives." His voice lowered, and hummed like quiet thunder. "It's a deep tragedy that my sister awaits the same fate."

The maid nodded, adjusting her black hair she had pulled in a tight bun. "...Surely there's something that can be done before her time, Master Umehito. There has to be something."

He shook his head, waving the hands of Beelzenef. "Unfortunately there isn't. There isn't anything we can do. Kirimi knows there isn't anything we can do. Yazuha only bared sons, and Kirimi is too young to marry. And even if she were of age, I forbid her of even stepping into the presence of those disgusting beings."

She sighed deeply, her heart heavy for her the woman upstairs, perishing. "...It isn't fair."

"Life isn't fair."

"...The Hitachiin's are selfish creatures."

Not moving, Umehito leaned into his tall dark chair and stared at a candle that flickered from the fireplace mantel. He tilted his head and looked at a candle that sat on the table beside him. He swirled his finger around the smoke that came from the tiny flame.

"If the Hitachiin's are selfish, what does that make us?" He pondered, rubbing his fingers together once he was burned. "Fumiko was careless, while Aritomo was selfish. It was both their faults."

His expression darkened. "But it was their fault. The curse was unnecessary. Had she just disposed of Aritomo and his only Heir, it wouldn't be so tragic, and I wouldn't loose my dear sister."

She nodded, her lips as straight as a pencil. "The Hitachiin's are better off than the Nekozawa's are. I'm sure Fumiko hadn't intended on that."

"Fumiko hadn't intended on the witch turning on her."

She received a far worst outcome than Aritomo and his decedents did. "They're solution is so simple. While this family has nothing to hope for."

Umehito turned and looked out the window, not blinking as he looked at the foggy night. A slight breeze blew at the tree tops, causing them to brush against the glass of the window.

"Indeed... A woman who is born into this family bares children who will grow up without a mother, and that's unstoppable. The only hope we have is to have the next generation marry into that family, but I refuse to have my future children have to spend the rest of their lives with someone who is as sickening as the ones who have the name _Hitachiin_."

"They're despicable indeed."

* * *

"This is despicable."

"Your move."

"..."

"I think it's checkmate, grandfather."

"No... Not yet."

Kaoru, with his elbow resting on the table, and his back hunched, stared at his grandfather's hands in boredom. He slumped his fist against his face and awaited him to move his king.

He blinked slowly, feeling as though he's fall asleep. "...This is why I hate chess."

Smirking at his sudden realization, his grandfather scratched at his beard and picked up his king and moved it sideways, was about to place it down, but moved it to the right instead, then hesitated.

Kaoru groaned and laid his forehead against the table. He laid there for a few moments, wondering to himself, why and how he had gotten himself into a chess challenge with him. He was regretting everything until he heard a soft 'clink' of wood hitting glass.

He looked up and saw his grandfather had kicked down his knight, and his king was now in checkmate from his grandfather's squire, his horse, and his queen.

The elder man smirked smugly. "... _I_ _win_."

"You cheated."

"It's all in the mind my dear boy."

"...I don't wanna play anymore."

"Checkers?"

"Nah."

"...Chinese checkers?"

"No more board games."

Hikaru turned to his brother and rolled his eyes. He leaned against the couch and tipped his cup of coffee in different angles, watching the dark liquid splash around the wall of his mug.

He looked at his brother and arched his brow. "I thought you were going with mom to the studio?"

"I was, but mother told me I shouldn't work today." Kaoru sighed, throwing himself against his chair. "She told me to make up with Mayuki at least for today, but it's kind of hard to do that. She doesn't tell me when or where she goes anymore, so I don't even know where she is right now."

"She isn't here?"

"Nope."

Kazuha looked at her youngest grandson and tipped back her glass of wine. "She probably knew you'd try to make up with her."

Kaoru pouted, picking up his own coffee from the small side table. "Her parents took her out somewhere, but of course, she doesn't tell me."

Hikaru shrugged. "If she doesn't tell then don't worry about her."

"You _know_ what she did that one time. Kind of hard, _not_ to worry."

Kazuha looked like she wanted to laugh, but her mouth was full. "...Well..." She swallowed her drink. "If she doesn't care enough to consent to you, than she doesn't deserve your concern."

Kaoru looked away out the window he sat by. Ignoring his grandfathers look of sympathy. "It's not _that_. You know she hates it here. She just does it so I don't come looking for her."

His older brother took a deep breath, staring into his cup. "She doesn't hate it here, Kaoru. Who could hate a mansion full of maids who tend to her every need? She hates the family."

"She doesn't hate the family. She just hates, Kaoru."

Hikaru looked at Kazuya and frowned at her words. "Yeah, because that's obviously going to make him feel better."

"It's their anniversary. Of course it's going to be the one day where she hates him the most. She regrets ever getting married, but she's too much of a coward to actually admit that to his face. Instead, she just ignores him."

"Grandmother, stop it."

Kaoru looked over at her, his brow narrowed. "...You know I can hear you. And don't talk about her like that. You know her reasons."

"Then again, it's your fault for not telling her about our issues until after you bit her-"

" _Okay_. Enough. I get it."

Kaoru let out another deep breath and lowered his eyes to his lap. It was His and Mayui's third wedding anniversary, but they even slept in separate bedrooms and barely say three words to each other on a regular basis, so it wasn't like anniversaries like it was for most couples.

You can't force people to like you, much less love you.

And while the curse kept them together, it couldn't control how anyone felt.

His brother was right... the curse needed love, but the love was fake just to save themselves.

While Hikaru wanted freedom away from the curse, he was also saving someone, but his body was shutting down and because of it, he didn't have more than eleven months to live.

Had he not have gotten married to Mayuki, he'd have the same time as his twin.

The curse was truly a terrible thing.

Hikaru looked over at his brother, who seemed to be lost in thought. He clutched his hand into a ball and leaned his head back over the headrest of the sofa. He wished he could help his little brother, but nothing could help. The curse made them monsters and some people just didn't like that.

As he was getting more comfortable, there was a hard knock at the door. The four of them that were in the room looked towards the entrance of the hallway and gave it a strange look. They were all quiet as they turned to Hikaru.

He looked at them and threw his head back in exaggeration. "...Damn it."

"...Funny," Kaoru murmured, sitting up straight. "We don't have company for threw months, now we're suddenly having someone over every day."

Hikaru stood up to get it. "If only it were the grim reaper here to take my soul."

"Go open the door."

Hikaru flapped his wrist towards his grandmother and walked out of the room, cursing about visitors. He frowned at the floor the whole time he hade his way to it. How much of a freak did you have to be to be left alone by the public?

Hiding the family's curse was already hard to hide from the paparazzi's being millionaires, but when they'd come to their perusal home, it was even harder. Especially when Mayuki's family was determined to get her away from them. They and that lawyer were starting to get on his nerves.

He sighed before gripping the doorknob and swinging it open, looking to see who it was.

Haruhi looked up from the cement porch and looked relieved that he had opened the door. "...There you are."

Hikaru didn't move. "...Not _you_ again. What part of 'don't come back' did you not understand?"

He would have much rather had his brother's in-laws over than her.

"I told you I was coming back." Haruhi arched her brow. "I told you to send the paperwork to my firm but you didn't, so I came here to pick them up."

"I had my _intern_ take them to your _firm_ yesterday."

"No, you had your intern send me a orange file with a birthday card inside of it." She grumbled, her cheeks pink. "I opened it and a paper thin snake popped out of it, and it sang the happy birthday song."

He smirked. "I guess my intern got the address wrong on the envelopes. That card was for my brother's mother in-law. Did you notice that the snake kinda looked like her?"

"I don't know what his mother-in-law looks like, and it nearly gave me a heart attack when I opened it."

"Well that was the plan." He shrugged. "So I guess _she_ has your paperwork."

Haruhi scoffed, patting her bag with her hand. "Well I guess it's a good thing I figured you didn't have them, because I brought an extra copy of those with me."

He groaned, gripping the doorframe. "Can I just give you a couple hundred thousand yen? We can forget all about this."

"You can't pay me to leave you alone. If you don't show up for the court hearing and fail to pay for those fines before the date on the paper you're going to get arrested."

"Ugh, I don't have time to get arrested this week... Next week was a good week, not this week though. I'm busy."

Before Haruhi could reply, she was suddenly pushed forward. She gasped as she stumbled forward. Hikaru stood there, and let the door slip from his fingers so he could catch her. Which didn't take much effort from him, as she just fell into his hands.

She blushed from embarrassment when he heard him snickering in mockery.

"I-..I'm sorry."

"I know I'm hot but I don't appreciate my lawyer trying to seduce me all the time."

"Oh! Haruhi, I thought you were just being over-exaggerate when you said the house was huge. It _is_ huge!"

Hikaru's eyes widened and he let her go. Haruhi squeaked as she almost fell to the floor. She stood up and straightened her shirt, as her father pushed past her, to walk into the room.

She gasped. "Dad! I told you to wait in the car."

Her father, in a graceful flourish, turned around and fluffed his hair. "But darling! I couldn't just sit there, you were already taking too long and I was dying to meet your client."

"I've been gone literally for two minutes!"

Hikaru stared at the strange person who suddenly made his appearance, and couldn't take his eyes off the dress the man wore. His hair was longer than his daughters and bright red, and his high heels clinked against the floor. He turned to Haruhi and looked down at her shoes, but they were flats and she barely made a noise as she walked

He looked between them both, and looked rather disturbed, maybe grossed out.

"Uh, who the hell are you?"

The man turned at the sound of his voice and nearly squealed. "Oh, you must be Mr. Hitachiin! Haruhi told me so much about you."

"I didn't really talk _so_ much about him..."

Hikaru turned to her and glared.

"I'm sorry I came unexpectedly, see we were on our way to go shopping when Haruhi said she needed to stop by here first." He babbled, before sticking his hand out. "I'm Ryoji, but you can just call me by my stage name, Ranka."

Hikaru looked at his hand, and grimaced in disgust at his pink painted nails. He took a deep breath and reluctantly shook his hand. "Yes... we're quiet busy though, today. I'm afraid we don't have time for company."

Ryoji nodded. "I understand fully, Mr. Hitachiin. Would your mother happen to be in today?"

"No. She's at the studio."

Ryoji eased down to his daughters size and cupped his mouth around her ear. "...He's handsome. He isn't crazy like you said."

Haruhi face palmed.

Hikaru stared at them with a strange look on his face. He looked at the opened door and held it wider, maybe silently telling them to get lost, but before the two of them noticed, Kaoru walked out from around the corner.

It was that moment that he knew he had been beaten and just slammed the door shut.

"You're back." Kaoru informed the obvious as he looked over at Haruhi. "...I thought my brother scared you off yesterday."

"Nope." Hikaru held his hands up. "I failed."

Kaoru, not being in the mood to be humorous, Shook his head and walked up to the brunette who was wearing the same outfit she wore the day before. He wanted to comment on her lack of style so bad, but the words never came out.

He turned to her with his hands in his pockets. He was frowning, but he managed to pull off a small, polite smile. "...I was hoping you would. I wanted to apologize for the way we acted around you the other day. That wasn't very civilized of us."

Haruhi raised her brow and watched as he raised his hand up to her. She nodded and shook it. "It's fine. I don't get bothered very easily."

She opened her mouth, but a gasp from her father interrupted her.

"You two are quite identical, aren't you? Just like in the pictures!" Ryoji mumbled, as though he was talking to himself. "If I saw you both at the same time I wouldn't be able to know which one is which. Could you, Haruhi?"

She sighed, ignoring him as she pulled out a folder from her bag. "We'll get started on this then. He'll be talking awhile."

Hikaru looked at the papers in her hand. " _We_?"

"I don't trust you doing it by yourself. It'll never get done." She shrugged, dropping it into his hands. "Plus I don't think you'd understand most of this stuff anyway."

He sighed, grumbling. " _Fine_. But you leave after we're finished."

She nodded, going to her bag to find some pens.

Ryoji turned his head to his daughter, but covered his mouth from saying anything with his fingertips. He was going to leave them alone.

Kaoru looked over Ryoji's shoulder and noticed his brother standing near Haruhi. He tipped his head to the side and smirked a little after Haruhi had said something to his brother that was somehow offending, making his cheeks turn pink from annoyance.

His brother could be so adorable when he wanted to be.

He turned to the feminine looking man and threw his hand out behind him, making an invisible path to the large living room.

"They'll be awhile. Would you like a tour of the downstairs?"

Ryoji brightened up and hurriedly nodded, holding back another squeal of excitement.

 _Anything to get her to stay longer..._

* * *

Haruhi and her father had been there for an hour, and she really tried to buzz past all the paperwork so she wouldn't have to go back to their house, but Ryoji was getting too hyped up about being there that she just decided to leave, with only half the things done.

Hikaru didn't want them there, but he really wanted to get all the paperwork done so she wouldn't have to come back, but at the rate they were going, she'd be coming over a few more times.

Her coming over only bothered Hikaru, Kaoru himself wasn't complaining. He knew why his brother didn't want any females around the house who weren't related to them, because he was afraid of what would happen. And because of what happened a long time ago, but this time, Kaoru felt, would turn out in a away his brother wouldn't approve of.

Which of course, would be the _right_ way.

His footsteps echoed around the walls in the practically empty hallway. He had his thumbs hooked on the pockets of his jeans as he walked passed his bedroom door and walked four doors down to where he had last seen his wife.

They all had eaten dinner in silence. And while he tried to engage her into random conversations with him, she wouldn't talk. Mayuki got to the mansion right before the maids had dinner on the table. Yazuha asked her where she was all day, in the nicest way she could, and all she said was that she was with her parents.

The question 'Why were you with them, when you should have been with Kaoru?' was scratching at all their throats, wanting to be asked, but the only one who dared to ask her that question was Hikaru, but he saw the look he was giving him that said not to say anything, so he didn't.

Kaoru knew the answer to it anyway.

Because she had a loathing hatred for him. All love between them was gone. It was now just one-sided. Like having only one half of a bridge that was supposed to connect two mountains.

He stared at the door of his wife's bedroom before calmly and quietly rapping his knuckles against it. "...Mayuki?"

It was silent for a few time induced moments until she finally replied with a drone.

"Go away."

He winced. "Is something wrong? You haven't said a word to me since yesterday."

"No."

"Is that a ' _no_ ' nothing's wrong, or a ' _no_ ' you're denying that you haven't said anything to me?"

"Go away, Kaoru."

Kaoru took a deep breath, laying his head against the door. "There's a door separating us, I don't think I can go away, any further, while still being able to talk to you."

"Then don't talk to me."

He tried not to get irritated. "I'm trying to settle our _issues_. You're not being very _cooperative_."

"Leave me alone."

He stared down at his feet as his forehead rested against the wood of the door. "...Can we just talk about this? I know.. apologizing isn't going to change anything. Just tell me what you want me to do."

Her voice was quiet and shaky from the other side of the door. " _Nothing_. Just keep away from me."

Hesitating to speak, he was sure she sounded like she was crying on the other side. "...I said I was sorry, I didn't mean for it to happen again."

"..."

"...I love you, Mayuki."

She never replied to him, and after awhile of staking out her door, waiting for her to come out, he realized she wasn't, and quietly went to his own room.

No matter how many times he'd say that, or how many times he'd apologize for something that truly wasn't even his fault, she wasn't going to feel the same way she did about him.

She hadn't said that she loved him in the last two years. He was stupid for thinking that she actually would this time.

* * *

 _We're born this way. We can't help it._

 _We're born with a deadly virus, and while it's complicated, only the blood of someone else can help it. Fumiko gave us twenty-five years. Twenty-five years before the virus starts to kill us._

 _Our blood cells multiply at an unhealthy rate, making our hearts beat faster than they're supposed to. Our bodies can't fight the virus themselves. We're vampires so we can take other's blood, their blood counteracts with ours and calms the virus._

 _Even if we didn't want to bite anyone, we can't help it. There's an strong internal force inside us, forcing us to bite that one person who we're not supposed to hurt. That one person who we should protect from anything harmful and scary._

 _The marks on our necks enables us from ever separating from each other. Enables us from ever leaving the ones we originally love._

 _That's what Fumiko wanted. Aritomo left her, and found someone new._

 _Now we, his descendants, are stuck with ones who don't love us back anymore for what we have to do to them._

 _Which would you prefer? Dying at the age of thirty-one, with no cure at all._

 _Or having to make your most cherished loved one suffer to the point of insanity just to keep yourself alive?_


	4. Chapter 4

**Nothing of Importance**

* * *

Knocks on the front door were consistence that morning. The whole household ignored it. Once, Kaoru thought that the one knocking was Haruhi, there to run the court documents by his brother again as she had done last week, but, as he looked out the peephole in the door, he saw that it wasn't her.

Now, standing in the hallway, was Hikaru, ignoring, yet very irritated with, the door. Or rather... the people who were knocking on it. Kaoru, afraid he'd be verbally attacked, ran away, and Hikaru was now the only one there.

The loud knocks continued.

He sighed heavily, gripping the doorknob, pressing his lips the frame. Speaking in a sing-song tone.

" _Whooo Is It_?"

"Hikaru, open the door!"

"Hmmm... _No_."

"Don't you sass me. Open this door now."

"Nope."

"Don't make me go around the house! You can't block both doors at the same time!"

"Actually, there's _four_ doors in this house total, and I don't _have_ to block them at the same time! They're locked anyway."

A female's voice screamed in frustration. And from Hikaru's side of the door, it sounded as though she had just kicked it.

"You can't keep this up forever! I'll call the police! They wont like Kaoru keeping Mayuki here against her will."

"On the contrary." Hikaru shouted back, obviously entertained. "She's likes being held against her will! She thinks it kinky!"

"Hikaru open this door now! My husband will open it from this side if you don't. I'm not kidding."

"Who Ichiro? Ha! Chubby man he is. He'll be huffing and puffing by the time he gets to the patio."

"Stop insulting us!"

"Stop touching my door!"

"We don't even have to come in, just bring Mayuki out! We haven't seen her all week, who knows what strange things he's doing to her in there!"

"...Ohh, I dunno. That's private information. I shouldn't tell. Such secrets might ruin our reputation..."

"Damn it! She's our daughter! Just wait until I call the police. We'll on purposely have Kaoru arrested for abuse if you don't let us in to see her."

Hikaru pressed his hand to his cheek, sounding shocked. "My brother? Abuser? Oh geez, that's serious..."

"In. _Now_!"

"Nah."

" _Why_?"

"Cause you're annoying, and loud and if I let you in you'll take her away. _Duh_. Have you not mentally been there for the past twenty-minutes we've been arguing?"

"Is it that hard just to let us into the hall to speak to her?"

"Well you know how we are. We don't like company. Particularly... _your_ company."

"Stop being so difficult."

"Stop accusing my brother of being a sadistic criminal and maybe ill be nice and let you in."

The woman behind the door gave a heavy sigh. "Fine, whatever you want. Just let us in."

"...Now apologize."

"Apologize? We've done nothing wrong! Your brother is the who who won't let-"

" _Ah, ah, ah_... Say you're sorry."

"..."

"...Okay, we're sorry..."

Hikaru shook his head, tightening his grip on the doorknob. "That didn't sound very convincing."

"Hikaru."

Hikaru turned his head and saw his little brother standing behind him. He removed his hands from the door completely and stood up straight. His expression tightened into a frown.

"Kaoru... Where'd you come from? I thought you left..."

"I was with Mayuki." Kaoru said almost in a whisper. His eyes moved to the door and he exhaled in hopelessness. "Stop pestering my in-laws."

Hikaru made a face of disgust as he turned to the door again. "You couldn't have picked someone with nice parents. No... it had to be the chick who's parents are freaking lunatics."

"It isn't their fault."

"Well it isn't your fault either."

Kaoru shrugged, tapping his twin's shoulder for him to step aside. Kaoru slid the chain lock and unlocked the deadbolt and the doorknob lock before he was able to open the door fully, and invitingly.

His mother-in-law stood there to greet him. Her hand clenched in a fist and in the air, looking as though he had just interrupted her from knocking brutally against the door again.

She cleared her throat and lowered her hand. "Finally. Someone should teach this family how to be civilized and polite."

Looking up, she didn't bother to see which twin had opened the door and just shoved herself passed him to get into the large entry hall.

Hikaru looked at her up and down and made a gag face before leaning against the wall, with his arms crossed. Having to look at her outfit she was wearing that day made him want to poke his own eyes out.

It should be illegal to walk into a house that was owned by Japan's finest fashion designers dressed in a animal print shirt and jean shorts, and black flats that didn't even match.

She looked at Kaoru and stuck her nose up. "Where is she?"

"She's upstairs." Kaoru muttered, his lips barely moving. "I told her you were here. She'll be down in a minute."

Hikaru raised his upper lip in pure hatred of the woman who stood in front of his twin. She was the person, besides his own wife, who treated his feelings like dirt. If everybody knew of the curse and believed it, they'd know that none of the things he'd do was ever his fault.

They never liked company because no one other than themselves understood.

If they did... maybe things would be different.

Kaoru's mother-in-law grumbled under her breath and adjusted the bag on her shoulders. "I'll just go get her myself."

Hikaru moved his hand like a puppet, mimicking her words. She turned to him and huffed in in his direction. "So the twin in question finally shows his face."

He smirked, tipping his eyebrows. "Pity. If you're going to hate on us, be sure you can tell which of us is which."

Kaoru scowled. "Knock it off, Hikaru. Why don't you call your lawyer. Go finish your paper she gave you."

Hikaru laid his head against the wall as the woman turned to him, looking shocked.

She looked shocked, but also almost amused. "You got into trouble and need a lawyer?"

"It's none of your business. And being here isn't either," Hikaru spoke firmly. "And we don't allow people upstairs."

"That sounds suspiciously freakish. What sort of strange things do you have up there?"

"Nothing, it's just none of your god damn business and if you go up there I'll call the police on you for trespassing."

"Enough, go." Kaoru scowled, pointing his finger towards the stairs giving his brother an invisible path to take. "You're causing unnecessary conflict."

When his mother-in-law turned around, Hikaru stuck his tongue out at her and shrugged, turning around to leave. She turned back around and huffed smugly, feelings somehow victorious.

Kaoru took a deep breath and looked back at her. "Akira-"

"Don't ' _Akria_ ' me." She growled, stepping up to her son-in-law. "Do you know how long I've been standing outside in the heat arguing with your brother? Ichiro has been waiting in the car and all I came over here was to do was to see, Mayuki. Just because you're married doesn't mean you get to keep her to yourself."

He nodded, pinching her finger between his, lowing her hand that poked his chest. "I know... Today just isn't a good day. You could come back tomorrow."

"As if. Where's Mayuki? She's coming with us."

"I said she's coming, but it really isn't a good time. But be my guest. It's not like I've been forcing her to stay here."

"Well it's seemed that way. We haven't seen her all week!

"She hasn't been feeling well."

"And who was she with constantly the whole week before? She wasn't-"

"She was with you."

Akira glowered, stepping on her tiptoes to get to his level. "Don't try to blame it on us. We're her family."

He hesitated, his eyes slowly narrowing. "I think you forget that we are too."

"The only reason you say that is because you're married, but you shouldn't be. I don't know how many times she's complained about living here with you and your family, and how miserable she makes it sound to behere. As her mother I don't think I can allow her to stay here anymore."

She paused, clenching her hand so tight her nails dug into her skin. "She doesn't say anything about it, but I always see her neck bruised. And it's like that all the times when she comes from your house to mine, why?"

His expression lowered into a deeper frown. "...Go ask her."

"She won't tell me."

"Then I don't have to either."

Akira inhaled deeply, adjusting her purse again. "Fine. The next time you hear from me will be from my lawyer. I'm not going to stand for this anymore. Being married doesn't mean anything. I'll make sure she doesn't ever come back here and that you go somewhere else. The judge will figure it out."

Kaoru arched his brow, folding his arms. "Not the first time you've threatened to have me a arrested, but we both know I haven't done anything."

"We'll see about that."

"Mother, you don't have to argue with him. You know he isn't worth your breath." Mayuki spoke up, as she got down the flight of stairs. "...What're you doing here?"

"Mayuki! There you are. You're coming with us. We're going out of town." Akira raised her lip at Kaoru before turning to her daughter with a grin. "So we can get you out of this house. Get some fresh air."

Mayuki gave one quick glance towards her husband, then turned to her mother before he noticed her gaze. "I'm not completely isolated here, mother."

"Might as well be." Akira grabbed her hand gently, guiding her towards the front door, but she stopped when she noticed something white on her daughters neck. Her long black hair did well to hide it, but not all of it.

"What is that?!"

Kaoru flinched as Mayuki covered the side of her neck with her hand defensively, covering the white Band-Aid. "It nothing, mother. I just-"

Akira flashed her son-in-law the coldest look he had ever seen her wear. A glance that was merciful and full of pure hatred for him.

She grabbed Mayuki's wrist and practically drug her from behind as she neared the front door. "Your family is definitely hearing from my lawyer."

Kaoru reached for his wife's hand before she was led away, but their fingers barely brushed before she pulled her hand away from him. He didn't say anything else to either of them as they walked away, and Akira even saved him the trouble of shutting the door, as she slammed it right after they stepped over the doorframe.

He sighed and shoved his hands into the pockets of his hoodie.

"What a bitch."

He turned around. A scowl plastered on his face. "Grandmother, don't."

Kazuha shrugged, leaning against the doorframe of the archway to the hall, holding the neck of a wine glass between her fingers. "She is. Who does she think she is anyway? Mayuki's never complained to her about it, just you. I don't see how it's any of her business."

Kaoru didn't reply. He stared at the door that had been slammed shut and only thought about his wife. Whenever Akira would take her away she'd always come back, but sometimes he was still concerned about it.

The curse wouldn't be all that bad if she was able to stay away from him, but she wasn't.

If the two parties are away from each other for longer than three days... It isn't necessarily good for either of them.

He didn't give his grandmother one look as he turned around on his heel and walked away. He wasn't even going to try to fight it anymore.

Kazuha watched him walk away. True, she was free from the curse a long time ago, because her husband accepted her, but her grandchildren were the ones who suffered the most from it. If only there was a way to get one's wife to like him, and to get the other one a girlfriend.

They were all truly miserable.

On the other side of the house, Yazuha was blabbering nonstop to the brunette who walked beside her. She fluffed her fingers through her short auburn hair and sighed in contentment.

"And I really think a lighter purple would look nice on you. Pink is a must try, too. It'd really bring out your eyes."

Haruhi nodded, not really paying attention as she tugged on the hem of her dark purple uniform. "...I guess. It was my mothers. I suppose I should get a new uniform."

"Ah, no wonder it looks so out of style. You know what we Hitachiin's are known for."

"...Fashion?"

"Precisely!" Yazuha spun around gracefully on her heel and poked Haruhi in the chest. "We could make it coral pink, with small white ruffles from a tank-top since the neck line would come down to right here and it'd show too much cleavage."

Haruhi exhaled heavily. "...I don't think I'd be able to pull off one of your designs. Mrs. Hitachiin."

"Oh please, Haruhi you're gorgeous, and if this family wasn't so complicated and difficult I'd totally give my son to you wrapped up in a bow for Christmas." She laughed, with her fingers to her lips. "But I'm afraid he isn't quite into the dating scene anymore unfortunately."

Haruhi gave a surpassed fake snicker. "...I might have guessed that."

"And please, you can call me Yazuha. No need for formalities. I guess until my son is free from the law you'll be coming over for a while."

"I suppose so, but he's so difficult and procrastinates in his papers so much, that I don't think we'll ever be done. He has so much parking violations than I've ever seen."

"Yeah, he's a stinker." She shrugged, adjusting her bangs as they became disheveled while she walked. They turned a corner and nearly bumped into something in their path.

Ironically, that something was, Hikaru.

"Well speak of the devil." Yazuha chuckled. "Hello darling."

"Mother..." Hikaru's expression tightened as he tilted his head. Haruhi tilted her head at the same time, being behind his mother and their eyes met instantly.

Suddenly he wanted to poke everyone's eyes out. "What're _you_ doing here? It's Tuesday! What is it? you come over unannounced now?"

Haruhi merely shrugged again. "Your mother phoned me."

Hikaru turned to his mother with a glare. "Really? I thought we discussed..." He moved his finger between himself and, Haruhi. " _Us_."

"You did darling, but I didn't bring her over here for you." Yazuha wiggled her fingers. "Have you not noticed how plain she looks? I mean you of all people, being a bachelor and all, you had to have noticed at one point. I called her over for guidance... From me of course."

He narrowed his brow as he looked at the twin woman who seemed to have just over ruled him. "...Well fine, but leave me out of it."

His mother shifted from one foot to the next. "Well actually, Hika-"

" _No_."

"Oh come on! I had that spring line last year and I think I have something In my workshop that would look great on her." She wiggled her brow seductively. "I mean look. Her outfit is so unflattering."

Hikaru looked at her, throwing an arm out towards Haruhi. "She's a lawyer. She doesn't need to look flattering."

"...Don't you think she could look better?"

He looked at Haruhi again almost in disgust. "I don't think you want my opinion."

"For shame Hikaru. And to think I thought I've been raising gentlemen."

"I have to go to court in two months and Akira accused Kaoru of abuse again and threatened to put him in prison so yeah... you've done a great job."

"Well I've done my part. Whatever you guys do after your eighteenth birthday is on you." She straightened her back, when her eyes widened. "Wait, Kaoru? for abuse?"

"Hmm, mm."

"Again?"

"Yup."

Haruhi looked at them, shocked. Wondering why they were taking that so lightly. "Uh... excuse me-... If we're done here could I go?"

Hikaru didn't even look at her. "Yes. Leave."

"No, no, no." Yazuha held her hand up. Glaring at her eldest son. "I have to go to my workshop and to talk to Kaoru now... I don't want you to leave so soon, Haruhi! We're not done. So Hikaru, why don't you take her out for coffee?"

"...You've got to be kidding me."

"No, really Mrs. Hitachiin, it's alright. I'll just come back tomorrow to give Hikaru more papers, I can-"

"Yeah, I'm not going anywhere."

"Hikaru, you haven't been out of the house in weeks. Sheesh, go take your lawyer for lunch to thank her for dealing with your smart ass."

Hikaru opened his mouth as he turned red. "Mom!"

"All I'm saying is that if my boys are going to prison, might as well have one be told that he's loved and have the other one take a chick out for coffee."

He groaned. "But I don't-"

"Don't 'but' your mother." Yazuha said firmly. "It took me twelve hours to bring you into this world, but I can take you out of it in five minutes flat if I choose to make it painless."

Haruhi continued to stand there as they argued, listening to them talk about her as thought she wasn't even there.

* * *

"Don't think this will become a normal activity between us."

"Considering how you took it, and how fast you drove down here, I figured it wouldn't."

Hikaru breathed deeply, easing into the back of an uncomfortable chair that wasn't padded. He couldn't believe it... his mother actually forced him to go out for coffee with his lawyer. Forget that part.

He was actually out for coffee.

Hikaru raised his head and looked around.

 _With commoners._

 _I'm out for coffee with a commoner, in a commoners coffee shop surrounded by more commoners._

He laid his head back and closed his eyes.

Not to mention that more half the population inside that coffee shop were females. And the commoner that sat across from him, just happened to be a female.

 _Why me?_

Haruhi turned looked up at him and gripped the large Styrofoam cup that held her coffee and raised the rim of it to her lips. She noticed the expression he was giving everything around them and couldn't keep down her curiosity.

She swallowed, starting gently. "Since your mother practically threatened to slash my tires if we go back sooner than two hours, the least you could do is converse in a human like conversation rather than sitting there groaning at me."

Hikaru sat up straight and folded his arms over his chest stubbornly. "I'm not talking to you."

"Then can I ask you a question?"

"I'm not gonna answer."

"Why are you so strange?"

His gaze switched from his coffee cup, to her in one split second. "What?"

She smirked. "I thought you weren't gonna answer?"

He frowned, looking away. "I'm not strange."

"You are a little." Her voice softened. "You seem angry all the time. We've been working together for over a week now and I've never seen you smile. Not even a little."

"Why would I? What's there to be happy about?"

"Well I don't know. I'm not with you twenty-four seven, but I've only seen you look sad or angry. If you're depressed, acting depressed only makes it worse."

He scoffed. "I'm not depressed."

"You seem like you are."

"I guess if that's what I _seem_ to you, then that automatically makes it true? Do you just give people titles judging on how they present themselves?"

"No..." She sighed, putting her cup back down. "Never mind... Could I ask you a business related question than?"

"No."

"If your family is so wealthy, why didn't you pay your tickets and violations when you first got them? If paid one at a time, it isn't such a big expense."

His expression went plain, no smirk, no glare, no expression at all. "...That's private."

"They're going to ask you these kind of questions in court."

"And what? If I don't answer them they'll send me straight to prison?"

"They might."

"Big whoop."

Haruhi scowled, resting her elbows on the small round table. "You should take this a little more seriously. You might get six months of time in jail or a year."

Hikaru folded his arms behind his head, leaning back. "I doubt that's make a big impact on my life right now. Perfect time. I'm not married, no girlfriend. No responsibilities. It's an ideal time to get arrested."

She had never heard anything so careless and ignorant. "Why doesn't this scare you?"

"Why would it?"

"It's _prison?_ "

"And that across the street is an ice cream parlor, and that over there is a salon."

She sighed. "Yeah, but prison isn't exactly a place where you go to get your hair done or to buy frozen Yogurt, and you know that."

"No, but it is a place where you can get pretty cool tattoos on your biceps."

"You? Get a tattoo? Of what? A skull and crossbones with the letters under it that read 'I hate everything'? That would seem like you."

"...Maybe I will."

Haruhi picked her cup up again, but just as she was about to take a sip of it, she nearly slammed it back down on the table. "I don't understand you. I can't understand you. Why are you so secretive? Why do you want people to distant themselves from you? Why are you so hateful towards the people who try to be nice to you?"

If he was surprised by her outburst he hid it fairly well behind his firm scowl. He didn't say anything to her and laid his head back again, staring at the ceiling.

She let out a breath. "Is that none of my business, too?"

He let out a small snicker, as a smirk slowly stretched across his cheeks. "...It's because you wouldn't understand."

"How am I supposed to understand if you don't tell me?"

His smirk faded. "You're my lawyer. I don't have to tell you anything. You're nothing special to me."

She just stared at him. Her lips tightening into a firm line. "What _is_ special to you? Is _anybody_? Or do you put yourself on top of everyone? Are people not worth your time? Is that how it is?"

"It's because I don't want people to be worth my time."

Her brow narrowed down to her eyes in confusion. "... _What_?"

"I don't know if you've noticed this or not, but my personal life is none of your business, as I've told you before a million times, but no. I don't put myself on top of others, but if that's what you want to believe, then go right ahead."

"I wouldn't insult you if you'd just be honest. Are you only going to put yourself around the people who aren't worth your time? But than what would they be to you?"

"Nothing. I don't put myself around anybody. Period."

"Do you not want people to like you?"

Again, he wasn't angry, or offended, or even saddened by the reality of her words. He simply said a few more words in the firmest tone he could muster before he stood from his chair to leave.

"That would make my situation a whole lot easier now, wouldn't it?"

Haruhi looked up and watched as he straightened his shirt and placed some pocket change down on the table she guessed was for a tip.

Ignoring the fact that she never thought he'd actually be the type to give a tip, especially one as big as it was, Haruhi only watched his for a few moments before grabbing her blazer off her chair and following him out the door.

"Hikaru, wait a second, I didn't-"

He turned back to her, now standing on the sidewalk in front of the small café.

"It's _Mr. Hitachiin_ to you." He said, his eyes like flickering balls of fire. "My family might not care about formalities, or such, but you're nothing to us. They might think that there's something special about you, and that you'll save the world, but there isn't. Stop forcing yourself into our lives."

She stared at him with wide eyes, but didn't say anything as he continued.

"You're just like everyone else. Whether we choose to tell you everything you wouldn't understand, and you never will. You're an outsider and your kind doesn't belong with people like us."

She opened her mouth as he neared her car that they used to drive down there but she stopped herself as Hikaru turned around only for a second to throw her keys at her, which she put effort into catching.

"Go home." He said, his voice like thunder. "I'm taking a cab... I'll see you Thursday, Mrs. _Fujioka_."

 _That_ was the last thing he said to her before he walked away. No. She didn't think to follow him, and truthfully, she was too scared to try to even apologize to him, so she let him go.

She looked down at the keys in her hand and sighed in self disappointment.

 _Mother... If you're looking down at me right now, I'm sorry._

 _I've went against everything you taught me._

 _He seems like a lost cause. Maybe I should just forget about the extra credit and just give his case to someone else._


	5. Chapter 5

**One Who Doesn't Forgive**

* * *

 _Clink_

 _Clink_

 _Clink_

"...Hikaru. I thought that you didn't want girls to notice you."

There was a loud sound of metal clashing metal that echoed in the almost empty, soundproof room, as Hikaru dropped 75lb weights from a foot above the floor.

He heaved heavily, hunching over the leather seat of the _Lat pulldown Machine_. He looked up towards his little brother who was leaning against the doorframe of the opened door and rolled his eyes.

"I'm not. Which is why we have a _private_ gym."

"Private or not, what're you working out for if you don't want to impress women?"

He furrowed his brow, gripping the handle bars of. Hikaru took a deep breath and pulled at the bars again. "It doesn't have to be about women all the time."

Kaoru snorted out loud, not being able to help it. "Are you working out to please _yourself_?"

Hikaru's eye twitched as the weights fell again as he let go of the handle bars. "I'm _frustrated_. And I'm trying to burn off some steam. Leave me alone."

"Is it about that lawyer girl? I told you I wasn't going to interfere anymore. I figured you two just weren't meant to be. She's too sweet for you."

Hikaru glared at the metal railing of the workout machine and grumbled. "It's not about her. I don't care about her. She's too oblivious and naïve and annoying, and she's _just_ my _lawyer_."

"I get that, calm down puppy." Kaoru flapped his hand downwards, exhaling in hopelessness. "She wasn't annoying to us. But as I said. She's too nice to be around you. You're kind of a butt."

He turned his head to look at his little brother again before looking down at his lap, wiping his forehead with the ball of his wrist. "I don't know what it is about her... She tried to get in my head. It's like she knows something about us and wants me to admit something to her."

Kaoru's expression loosened softly. "Hikaru, not everyone is out to get you. You know that, right?"

"It's has nothing to do with people trying to get us. It's that women won't leave me alone because I'm single." He gripped the handle bar again and his muscles strained as he pulled it down. "Fujioka probably took up my case because she's broke and needs a husband."

"Hikaru, I didn't say 'coming after _us;_ , I meant coming after you in particular. You got scared so you pushed her away. And you were kind of a jerk when you did it, weren't you?"

"I wasn't a jerk." He glared, clenching his fists around the bar. "She was trying to get into my business, so I told her to back off."

Kaoru licked his bottom lip, strolling into the gym room, sitting himself down on the leather calf lift bench. "Do you think that just because you insult girls that they'll leave you alone? You need to find a new method before you actually emotionally hurt someone."

"If I can do that once, I can do it again."

Kaoru leaned back, crossing his legs. "... You hurt yourself more than it hurt her."

Hikaru closed his eyes tight as he pulled the bar back down to his bare torso again. "This isn't about Ren, this is about women in general. And the reason why I don't date and never will again."

"You won't have enough time to start dating anyway."

"You sound like grandmother."

"And as much as I hate to admit it, I agree with her... She's right."

"So what? What does it matter?" Hikaru spoke a little louder. Kaoru could almost hear his nerves bursting with annoyance. "In this family dropping over dead is heaven. Believe me, I'm _busting_ with joy."

"I'm not."

Hikaru stomach curled from his twin's soft gentle tone. "That's why we were born twins. But sadly, there's this little itsy bitsy little thing called love in this word and certain people just like to have it."

"...You had it too at one point."

"So did you."

" _Hey_. We don't talk about me. We talk about _you_. My problems are a ' _no, no zone'_."

Hikaru let the handle slip through his fingers. The weights dropped down with a loud thud. Kaoru flinched from the noise and his gaze was met with his cold, irritated eyes. "Well I don't want to talk about me either. Why are you so concerned about my loveless life?"

Kaoru looked down at the floor, rubbing his thumb against his finger. "...You know why."

"Well it can't be helped, Kaoru. You can't force love and in this family, if it isn't true, it doesn't work out."

"But you don't try to find true love, you're just letting yourself wilt away."

"There isn't true love. It doesn't exist. That's for suckers like Romeo and Juliet who were so dumb they died for each other."

"Well then you must have true love for ever fortunately maiden in the whole wide world."

"If that's what's going to make you happy, Kaoru, _fine_."

"It doesn't. I know you're never going to take this seriously like the rest of us, but the least you could do is understand why we're all worried. You know why mom sent you away with that lawyer for coffee, don't you?"

Hikaru grabbed the hand towel that was draped over the thin railing of the _pulldown_ machine and pressed it to his hot forehead. "Of course I do." He glared at the soft cloth. "Where do you think you get your jackass scheme ideas?"

"Honestly," Kaoru rubbed his foot into the floor, giving his brother a concerned scowl. "she didn't have to be your lawyer. It didn't have to be her. Mom would have tried to send you out for coffee with any random girl who walked through our door that day."

"I know." Hikaru clenched his teeth, scrunching the small towel into a ball and gripping it inside his fist. "And you know why I broke up with, Ren."

"...All I know is what you told me." Kaoru's tone got more quite and cautious. "...That you loved her so much you were going to marry her. You never told me why you broke up with her."

"Because love doesn't exist. It's all a lie."

"Is that what Fumiko taught you?"

"It's what I figured out myself the hard way."

The room became deathly silent. Kaoru watched as his brother reached over the railing of the machine he was on and grabbed his shirt. Once he was fully clothed again Hikaru stood up and made his way out the door.

Before he could get that far though, Kaoru opened his mouth again.

"...Well, it doesn't matter now. It's the past. But just because you guys didn't work out, doesn't mean you have to stop trying all together."

Hikaru turned around, rolling the sleeves of his hoodie up to his elbows. His eyes showed no emotion, and his lips were as straight as a pencil. "It's never going to work out, Kaoru. Look at yourself. Dozens of our relatives know what I'm talking about. This is what Fumiko wanted. She knew love doesn't exist so she made that our only option. Then we get desperate and force ourselves into things we don't want."

"You're the only one who thinks this way, Hikaru. Grandmother and mom figured out how to make it work. Mayuki and I just haven't yet."

"Mom's relationship with dad has never been like yours."

"Your relationship wasn't like how mine is either yet you guys aren't together anymore. "

"Well your relationship was fine too before... it happened. And how you managed to keep yourself from doing it until _after_ you two were married, we may never know."

With that, Kaoru stopped replying and Hikaru walked away, leaving his little brother in the home gym alone. Kaoru laid down on the bench and pillowed his head on his arms, staring at the plain white ceiling.

He frowned. "You touched the _no no zone_."

* * *

"I give up mom. I've spent so much time and effort on something I'm not even capable of doing."

The grave she stared at, never responded, and she felt pathetic after she waited for it to.

"...I'm not as good as you were. I'm too clingy to be a lawyer."

Haruhi's eyes moved from the letters 'Fujioka Kotoko' that was engraved on the stone that was elevated on another block and watched as the smoke of a burning incense disappeared into the air.

He folded her legs beneath her Indian-style and lowered her head, breathing in the violet scented stick and the mild hint of the lilies she had brought and set aside against her mother's grave.

"Maybe... With my experience I have, I can go into law. I could work for the CPS, or work at the desk of a police station. Or if I really want to degrade myself I could be a bartender at dad's tranny bar."

Her brow fell as she fingered the hard rough stone, exhaling heavily. "...It just isn't working for me. Like you said... you can't get to know your client, or your enemies. I guess in this case though, my client _is_ my enemy... And I've gotten to know him and his family."

Silence-

"...I just wanted the extra credit so I could graduate sooner... I didn't want to make friends with them."

More silence-

"I don't think I can take two more months of this."

"Um... Are you talking to yourself? Cause.. I can come back later."

Hearing a voice, Her breath hitched as she breathed in as immediately she turned around. Her eyes wide in surprise.

The instant she saw auburn hair, she turned back around, frowning in discouragement. "How did you know I was here? If you needed something I was coming over Thursday, remember. I didn't need to bother you until then."

"...I think you mean someone else."

Haruhi turned her head back around, wiping the side of her nose. She immediately recognized her mistake. "Oh... I'm sorry Mrs. Hitachiin, I thought... I thought you were someone else."

Kaoru stuck his thumbs into the pockets of his jeans. "Thought I was, Hikaru?"

"...Sorry, I wasn't paying attention."

"That's okay. A lot of people used to get it wrong all the time. We used to have to wear name tags."

She nodded, staring at the cement ground. "...Did I unintentionally violate your privacy, too?"

Kaoru looked down at her, kicking the dirt. "No. I uh... I actually came here to make sure you weren't going to drop the case, my brother's. Cause uh... Hikaru isn't exactly in the situation to get arrested and I was just making sure you weren't uh..."

She didn't hesitate. Her voice answering in a raw tone. "I wouldn't let your brother get arrested just because we came to a disagreement."

"Good cause... I know he probably seems like a bad guy but he's just um... Well he _is_ but didn't always used to be like that so... if he said something insulting he was just being a... a jerk on purpose not that it's in his blood to act like that or anything."

"... _What_?"

"To be honest I have no idea why he's a jerk but he's nice if you... if _he_ likes you."

Haruhi scooted closer to the stone, puckering her lip. "He's kinda mad at me."

"He's mad at everyone, so I guess it doesn't matter if he likes you or not. College wasn't exactly good to him, but enough about that loser." Kaoru cleared his throat, looking over his shoulder awkwardly. "Well That's not exactly all why I came here, I know how my brother is around girls and he isn't exactly subtle and gentleman-like with them, so I was just wondering if you were okay."

Haruhi took a deep breath, pressing her hand to the ground to help her stand up. "I guess not all the way okay. You found me talking to a rock."

"Well considering that it is a cemetery I'm guessing you were talking to someone _under_ the rock."

She looked down at the cut lilies that were wrapped together with string. "... My mom."

"...Oh."

"..."

An awkward silence fell between the two of them, one that lasted a few moments before she spoke up again.

"...How did you know I was here? We aren't exactly... _prime_ acquaintances."

Kaoru snickered, scratching the back of his neck. "We'll say this visit is just between you and me, kay? I _ramsacked_ my brother's room i'e... his trashcan to find your business card that had your phone number, but your father answered instead cause apparently you left your bag there. And when I asked him where you were he didn't hesitate to tell me, so... I've been wandering around this cemetery aimlessly until I heard you talking to yourself or..."

"Yeah I get it."

"Yeah..."

She chuckled, giving him a quick glance. "You're awkward."

"...I don't talk to a lot of girls either and my brother is going to be pissed when he finds out I came to visit you."

"Aren't you married? And _you're_ girl shy?"

"Yeah well... that's a different story, I don't really talk to my wife a lot either." Kaoru clicked his tongue, scratching the pavement with his foot again. "She doesn't like me that much."

"Oh... I haven't noticed. I thought it was your in-laws."

"...Yeah, they don't like me either."

"I'm sorry."

"It's my fault." He muttered, watching her dust off her jeans. "They don't like our house and they don't want Mayuki living there is all. They've been trying to make up wild excuses to get Mayuki taken away from there, but... she can't leave."

Haruhi gave him a weird glance. "...I'm starting to wonder how _wild_ those excuses are."

"Me too. I can't keep track of what's fact or fiction anymore. Our family's pretty weird."

"You're _admitting_ it?"

"Everyone admits it, but we _do_ have our pride so we're quiet about it."

Haruhi turned back around, staring at her mother's name. "Oh well... I guess your family isn't any of my business. I'll uh... see you tomorrow. I have to give your brother more work. He'll appreciate that. It looks like it'll rain soon, be careful driving home, Mr. Hitachiin."

He snickered at her sarcasm. "You're the only one who calls us that other than our maids. I didn't see any other car outside the gate, how far is your house from here?"

"My apartment is like... ten minutes down that way." She said, pointing her finger towards the side. "You're not supposed to park in front of the cemetery."

"...You're not?"

"Did you park there? There's a giant yellow sign that says 'no parking'."

"There's is?"

"...And a fine."

"Dear god." He scoffed, throwing his hand up. "Oh well, if you decide to snitch, tell em' it was, Hikaru. Add it to his list."

Haruhi sighed, shaking her head as she walked past him. "Well it was nice of you to come over here to see if I was okay, but I think you should go. I have to get going before I get wet."

"Um... want me to drive you back to your apartment?"

"No, I like walking. It's relaxing."

He nodded, letting her pass him. He looked back over towards the tall standing grave, staring at the name Fujioka on it. He looked at it for longer than he meant to, as his mind was replacing her name with his brother's. He pictured it. His own brother's name on a grave that sort of thing was absolute and was pure destiny. It was his brother's fate.

To die.

He inhaled sharply and turned around, feeling his heart thump aggressively against his ribs. He was scared. He didn't want that to happen. Why was he so selfish? Why his brother the selfless one? Why did thing have to be like this? So complicated?

Why them?

"Wait." He called out to Haruhi before she got too far away from him. "Um... how about I take you out or lunch? You probably think we're unsophisticated jerks with no manners, huh?"

Haruhi stopped walking and turned around, arching her brow. "No, I don't. But I don't think that'd be a good idea."

"Please? I'd be making up for whatever my brother said to you, and maybe give you a better impression of our family. We haven't been very nice, and my mom probably seemed a little crazy."

"...No I don't think so, she's just really energetic. Your grandmother though, she's kinda..."

"I know, but there's no hope for her. She's just awful." Kaoru bit his lip. "...I could take you out, do you like Sushi?"

She lightened her lips, looking down at the ground. "...I like tuna."

"Great! We'll go out for tuna, and coffee. What kind of tuna?"

"...Fancy tuna?"

"...What is that? Is that like... expensive tuna that commoners can't buy?"

"A couple of high school friends used to buy it for me."

"Well I guess we'll go out for fancy tuna then." Kaoru grinned, catching her off guard as he grabbed her hand. "We can talk about what... commoners talk about."

"...But still, we shouldn't."

"But still we shall."

"Hikaru won't like it."

"About that... This will be just between us, kay? I mean he already wants my head on a stake."

Haruhi took a deep breath, letting the younger twin pull her hand, practically dragging her down the sidewalk, wondering why he was so adamant.

 _Mom... How am I always running into these weirdo's?_

* * *

That night, Hikaru stared at the ceiling of his bedroom as he laid on his bed, he had a headache and excused himself from the dinner table early. After having A headache that was that intense, he knew it wasn't from anything stupid like stress like he had claimed it was.

He pillowed his arms under his head and looked at the texture on ceiling and the patterns on the wallpapers. He hated it being so quet, his mind would always wander, forcing himself to think.

To think of all his problems, the fact he was dying, the fact his family wouldn't stop trying to find him a girlfriend to save their lives, the stress of having a nosey attorney and, Ren.

She was in the past now, and couldn't be helped but it still hurt to think about it.

* * *

 _"Hikaru! Stop running. I can't keep up."_

 _Hikaru spun around on his heel, grinning despite his cold features. "We're going to be late. I'll get a bad rep."_

 _"That's because you've been late three times in a row this week," Remiko huffed, hunching over, her hands resting on her knees. "But I haven't. Just cause you have bad timing doesn't mean I should suffer, too."_

 _"You're the one who wanted to take so long putting your makeup on." He declared, scowling stubbornly. "No matter how many times I tell you that I like your face the way it is."_

 _She stood up straight , puckering her lips as she whined. "You're the one who messed it up. You touched my foundation and ruined my lipstick."_

 _"And your foundation got all over my hands and your lipstick got on my face. We had the same problems, it just took me fifteen minutes quicker to fix mine."_

 _"I wouldn't have to fix my face five times a day if you'd stop pulling me under the bleachers."_

 _"Oooh, but it's so fun."_

 _"Fun for you."_

 _He grinned, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his hoodie. "You know you love it. You get so flustered and whispered my name."_

 _She huffed. "Yeah, to tell you to stop."_

 _"I supposed I'm the one who messed up the gel in my hair myself than."_

 _"Don't make it sound like I'm the dirty one."_

 _He laughed, turning his back to her. "Though you do enjoy the occasional make out sessions. Don't lie."_

 _She grumbled, hugging herself against the slight chill in the air. "Let's go before you get all hot an bothered by your own words in public."_

 _"It's only cause I've been looking at you, babe." He shrugged, smirking at the sound of her footsteps growing closer to his. "When the weather heats up we'll go to the beach."_

 _"What does the beach have to do with being late for school?"_

 _"it doesn't have anything to do with it. Missing one day of school is pointless, going to the beach is a win-win cause you'd get to wear one of my mothers designs, and I'd get to see you in it."_

 _"What is it?"_

 _"A thread bikini."_

 _"You're so gross. You mother couldn't have designed it for no reason."_

 _"No, but I did."_

 _"...You grow more and more into a pervert the longer we date I swear. It's November yet you draw me wearing a bikini. I'm finding it really hard to find that flattering, even in the slightest."_

 _Hikaru laughed, biting his tongue between his teeth as he glanced at his side once she got into step with him. "Just be thankful I'm not that much of a pervert to draw you wearing your birthday suit."_

 _She stared at her feet in silence. "...My... birthday suit?"_

 _"Hmm."_

 _"..."_

 _"..."_

 _"What would that look-... Oh! Hikaru! No! God."_

 _Mischievously chuckling under his breath, he jabbed his finger into her side, making her squeal. She moved to punch his arm but he slipped out of her reach and ran in front of her. "If wouldn't look anything like you anyway, you leave too much to the imagination with what you wear. I'm never sure."_

 _She growled, lunging towards him again, but she ended up having to run for him. "You have such a strong imagination that it would probably look gravely similar."_

 _"Oh, if only I were that talented. You'd be the cover girl for the photo-shopped magazine. I'd be double the millionaire I already am. Cause you're so cute."_

Her dark hair and flustered red cheeks were the last thing his mind remembered and the last thing that showed behind his glazed eyes before there was a loud slam that so rudely interrupted his thoughts.

A loud slam of a door near his bedroom that was caused by his sister-in-law. He knew, because shortly afterwards there was a few hushed shouts of desperation and anger.

Hikaru turned over in bed, pillowing his elbow under his head, thanking god that he was interrupted before he got too ahead of himself.

There were three types of people in the world.

Those who forgive and forget.

Those who forgive but not forget.

And then there was him, who did neither.

A strange thing for it to simply be born in your blood, isn't it?


	6. Chapter 6

**Love Is Torturous**

* * *

That sky was dark but was tinted white from the stars and the sliver of the crescent moon. With a fresh early, _early_ morning breeze. Birds were still sleeping but the crickets were hard at work with their obnoxious buzzing.

Headlights disturbed thick holes into the fog that formed near the ground. An engine roared then quieted with a turn of a key. The lights faded and then a click echoed inside the dark Audi s6 that had just pulled up around the circular driveway.

The owner of the car stretched his leg out from the door but hesitated on stepping out, as his eyes burned with exhaustion and all he wanted to do was fall asleep against the steering wheel.

A torturous twinge gripped and scratched at the inside of his head. He grabbed his hair and massaged his finger into his forehead, trying to soothe it.

It had started earlier that week, meaning he'd be tortured and abused throughout the year before it'd stop. Before he'd give. Before his body would give.

 _So long_ , he thought, as he kneaded his fingertips into his temples. So long it was going to make his suffer, with worse things everyday.

When he and his brother were younger, he hadn't planned on living this lifestyle. He didn't choose it. More precisely, it chose him. It chose them all, but it was just him who decided to let it win. He didn't want to fight it. Fighting wasn't worth it.

Concluding that he wasn't going to do himself any good sitting in the darkness of his car, Hikaru opened the door and slipped out into the darkness of the outside. It was too dark to read his watch, but it was near two-thirty when he had left the warehouse.

His shoes sunk into the soggy grass. His steps sounded as though he was squeezing a wet sponge. It had rained earlier that night, and the water droplets still were visual on his windshield and windows of the mansion.

His steps against the outside stairs were short and mere 'thumps'. He jabbed his hand into the pocket of his blazer and grabbed his bundle of keys. It didn't take him long to locate his house key and open the door.

He opened It slightly, slipping inside the entry hall, being as quiet as possible. He let the door slip from his fingers and it shut almost soundlessly. The halls were dark and silent that it made the house almost eerie, but he was no more fazed by it than he was by the fact that there was a soft light glowing from around the corner.

 _A light?_

 _Damn..._

Cursing under his breath, Hikaru shrugged off his blazer. He was too tired to care so he tossed it into the hall closet, not even bothering to hang it up. His fingers flew through his hair, grabbing and tugging it. Feeling the tangles it had developed earlier from this habit.

Behind his eyes ached and burned, just screaming at him to lay down, almost as if his own body was threatening him. A body that was slowly shutting down, was surely an angry one. His heart thumped against his ribs, making his stomach want to turn. He felt sick.

Or more accurately, he felt dead.

Alive, but _dead_.

He listened to his own footsteps against the floor, every step was like a short, hallow lullaby, making his more tired than before.

He was a zombie, and he was sure from another man's view, that he probably looked like one, too.

The light from the living room was like the straw that broke the camel's back. He groaned and rubbed between his eyes, cursing himself for keeping himself up so late.

"Do you normally stay out till three in the morning? Or is there a new hobby you haven't told me about?"

Hikaru peered over the head of the couch, seeing his brother resting with his feet up on the table. "...I could ask you the same question."

Kaoru snickered, staring at the glass he balanced between his fingers. "I'm always up."

Hikaru shrugged his shoulders, loosening his tie, and unbuttoning his white dress shirt. He was smirking until he noticed a bottle on the coffee table near his twin. "Are you always up at three in the morning drinking sake?"

Kaoru tipped his glass, watching the liquid in the cup dance around the rim. "...I may be allowing myself to drown in my own self-pity."

"...You sound weird. Couldn't sleep?"

"If you can't live with yourself, how do you expect me to sleep with myself?"

Hikaru's brow knitted, and his forehead creased with his scowl. "...That's deep."

Kaoru let out a heavy breath, rubbing his fingers behind his auburn bangs. "No matter what I do, I still end up screwing things up."

Dropping his hands from his shirt, the eldest sighed and threw himself down on the couch beside his brother. "Is this about, Mayuki?"

"Everything's about, Mayuki. Everything's about them. The opposites of us. You were right, Hika..." Kaoru clenched his fingers around the neck of the glass he held, and watched his knuckles turn white. "I'm starting to wonder about a lot of things you've said."

Tossing his tie on the throw pillow, Hikaru rubbed his hands over his face. "You've never listened to anything I've said before..."

"That was before I knew you were right. We're monsters, and we don't deserve to live here. There's a special place for us, just like you said."

"Hell."

"Precisely."

"...What did you do this time?"

Clenching his jaw, Kaoru's eyes followed an invisible line up to the ceiling. "...I blew it. Just when I grow back her trust, I blow it. You probably heard us arguing."

"You two arguing is what made me leave the house in the first place."

Kaoru clicked his tongue, chewing on the skin of his lower lip. "I don't know what your reason is, but... I'm staring to regret everything I've done."

Hikaru turned from his brother, and looked towards the half empty bottle of Sake, wondering just how much his brother had drank. "Kaoru, I made my choices, and you made yours. We're twins but we don't have to live the same lifestyle."

"I know we've made our choices, and that we can't go back, or... I can't go back, but..." He rolled his head, looking towards his older brother with tired eyes. "I'm starting to think your choices were better."

"And I'm starting to think you're drunk."

"Tch, I'm on my first glass. I can't handle my alcohol like you can, and I don't want to try."

Touching his hand, feeling his muscles twitch, Hikaru didn't have to look at his brother's beaten down expression to know he was hurting. "Kao, don't. You didn't let Fumiko control you, that's the better choice. If you didn't marry Mayuki you'd be in the same position I am."

"Which, right now, seems a hell of a lot better than my position."

"I'm dying, you're not."

"I'd rather be dead."

Hikaru didn't say anything as he scooted closer to his brother, rubbing his shoulder against his. "We've been surrounded by people who have made it work, you didn't know the person you picked wouldn't like it."

"No one should like it." Kaoru placed his cup down on the table, cupping his hands over his eyes, mussing his bangs. "This isn't something people should enjoy. This is torture."

When Hikaru didn't answer he continued.

"I'm tired of living this way. I hate it." He leaned back into the cushions again, looking at his hands. "But I can't do anything about it."

He turned over, avoiding teary eye contact. "I don't want to hurt her anymore."

Hikaru because numb against the couch. Too tired to move. "It isn't your fault, Kaoru. Fumiko wanted us all to suffer."

"But it isn't Fumiko anymore who's making people cry. Why can't we stop it? Why does it have to be so easy to give in?"

Kaoru grabbed the closest couch pillow and stuffed his face deep into it, making it hard to inhale. "...It could have been anything. She could have cursed us to be frogs, why did it have to involve other people?"

"Because she was a crazy bitch who wanted us to suffer even after she found happiness." Hikaru turned, pinching his nose. "Now you know why I prefer being alone."

Lowering the pillow, Kaoru stared at his older brother with foggy eyes. His throat was clogged with a hidden sob. "...Was my relationship with Mayuki the reason why you broke up with, Remiko?"

"No, Remiko was before you and Mayuki even had problems. And we don't have to mention her, she's the past. And she's better off in the past."

"Sorry..."

A deep silence fell between the twins. It was neither awkward nor pleasant. Kaoru finished off what was left in his cup and Hikaru was beginning to doze off. His mind was wandering. Wandering to places it had no business going, so he grabbed his own hand, squeezing his nails into his own skin. Trying desperately to stay awake long enough to drag himself up the stairs and into the shower, then to bed.

Breaking the silence, Kaoru stared at his nebulous reflection in his glass and spoke as though he was speaking to himself.

"...Does that make me selfish?"

Hikaru turned to his brother, but didn't speak, only raised his brow.

"Before we got married, I didn't love her. I liked her, but... I didn't love her." Kaoru looked up, gazing at his twin with sad eyes. "That's why...I didn't _do it_ , until afterwards... Doesn't that make me selfish?"

He turned back at the ceiling. "Or maybe I was just scared."

"We're all selfish, Kaoru. You didn't know you didn't love her. True love can't be felt. You wanted to be with Mayuki, and you are. That's not selfish."

"...If I'm not selfish, what does that make you?"

"More selfish than _you_."

Kaoru hesitated, as he rubbed his hands into his face again. "If you were, you'd still be with Remiko, or with someone else. You wouldn't be alone, and you wouldn't want to be alone."

"You're probably right."

"Truth is..." Lightly fingering his empty glass, Kaoru rolled his head to look at his brother. His eyes barely open. "...Earlier, I was out talking to Fujioka, and-"

Hikaru groaned. "My lawyer. _Why_? Damn it, Kaoru."

"You upset her, I was only making sure she wasn't going to drop your case."

"You know that if she does, I'll only be given another attorney, right?"

"True, but... I was talking to her and..." He paused, avoiding his twin's glare. "Okay, I took her out for lunch, but-"

"I hate you."

"No, it's not like that. She's... She's an amazing person, and after this whole fiasco with Mayuki, I don't want it to happen to anymore people. Maybe it's better that the Hitachiin name stops with us."

Hikaru pressed his fingers into his cheeks, groaning from stress and exhaustion. "Please tell me you don't have feelings for my lawyer."

"I'm married to Mayuki, why would I-?"

"Paper work doesn't determine feelings, Kaoru."

"Okay, I love Mayuki, and no. I do not have romantic feelings for, Haruhi, but... When you stand next to her... do you feel-"

"Nope."

"Would you let me finish?"

"I can't believe you. You take my lawyer out for lunch, after you knew I despised her, and want no part of her. Oh, but not you. You take strangers out for lunch and get to know them, and are fine with telling her our family's personal business." His eyes widened at that thought. "God, Kaoru. You didn't."

"No. I didn't tell her anything." Kaoru sat up straight, folding his arms, throwing his legs over the edge of the couch, pressing his shoes to the floor. "And you shouldn't despise her, she's actually nice and apologized for being so nosey."

"But it's not about that." He continued, pursing his lips. "When we were out, the whole time I was next to her I felt... like a tiny electric shock, and it wouldn't go away."

"But you're only supposed to feel that with Mayuki. With me it was normal so I told her to leave us alone."

"...That's why it was weird."

Kaoru's finger's brushed behind his ear, feeling the elevated skin. It was still swollen from earlier, after his unintentional contact to Mayuki's mark, but he remembered it burning, feeling the shocking sensation after being near Haruhi, who, as far as he knew of, and most likely didn't, have a mark.

"There's just... There's something about her that makes her, o _dd..._ "

Hikaru's eyes slanted in annoyance. "We're the odd ones, Kaoru. There's no one on earth like us. We have to stay away from other people."

He left his little brother with that, as he pressed his hands to his knees and stood up. Kaoru didn't give him another look, and didn't even try to say anything else to him as he left. But Kaoru didn't move. He just grabbed the neck of the sake bottle and poured himself another shot.

The corners of his eyes crinkled as he frowned at the floor.

 _"We have to stay away from other people..."_

 _So our family and our curse dies permanently. Only being known to others as a legend as we should be._

 _Are we really the monsters?_

* * *

"Oh my freaking god. If you want to date my brother, fine, but could you call him on his time, not mine?"

"You know full well why I'm here. And who said anything about dating your brother?"

"Well you seem so fond of him. Also, I don't appreciate you romantically engaging my brother with fondue. We're going to have to talk about that."

Haruhi stared at her client as he held the door open, though she was sure it wasn't for her, and more for the fact so he could babble nonsense at her.

"Mr. Hitachiin, I don't know what you mean." She went poker-faced. "And do you even know what fondue is?"

Hikaru scoffed, gripping the door knob. "Not sure but neither way, I don't appreciate you doing it with my brother."

"Well I can assure you that it doesn't involve physical contact." She tried not to laugh as she adjusted her bag on her shoulder, after glancing at her watch. "Fortunately for you, I can't stay long. I have a class this evening."

Watching her push her way passed him, and into the main entrance, Hikaru gnashed his teeth and tried to shut the door as calmly and quietly as possible, but still it slammed shut, even against his best efforts.

He glared at the floor, licking his teeth in undeveloped rage. "..It's cheese and crackers..."

She snorted, walking away to the closest table. "That it is."

It was now one in the afternoon, and the twins were the only ones in the house. Mayuki had left somewhere (without telling anyone, again) their mother and father were off working, and their grandparents were having a day out, out in the town.

That left him, and his brother, to deal with the house. As they gave their maids off that day, knowing Haruhi was coming. He was all for kicking whoever came out, out of the house and laughing as they walked away, but his brother, being the more reasonable one, overruled him. Despite everything.

He clenched his fingers into his palms and turned on his heel, stalking after her.

"I thought you'd leave us alone after what I said to you, that day."

Shrugging, she wanted to ignore that, but didn't.

"I don't want to bother you, Mr. Hitachiin. I just want to do my job." She said truthfully, and really, it was the truth, but there was also something else. "Just because we disagree, I wouldn't drop your case and give it to someone else."

"Maybe that would have been better for the both of us."

"I need it for credit. If I do a crappy job, it'll jeopardize my chance to be given real cases and a promotion when I graduate."

"Well I don't see how that would effect me."

"It wouldn't." Haruhi turned her head, looking over her shoulder with her lips curved into a smirk. "But why would I give you the pleasure of leaving and appointing you to another lawyer.?

"God, what are you? Satan's daughter?"

"Sure, and you're the devil himself."

"I can live with that."

She shook her head, continuing on her way until she got to the couch in the living room. "It won't take long today. If you cooperate with me, and not complain about it the whole time, we could get all of this done in no time. What I want to know, is why you have so much violations. Why didn't you learn the first time around?"

Hikaru refused to ask that directly. "How am I supposed to know what not to do, when all the police do is put a sticker on my windshield telling me to give them money. It's not my fault the handicap space is so much easier to use. I mean it's right in front of the building."

"Handicap zones are for the handicap." She looked at before throwing herself down on the sofa. "You're not handicap, as far as I know. Unless it's mental."

Hikaru glared, he heard footsteps behind him, but his gaze was fixed on her face. "Again, it's blue, sometimes it's blended into the road."

"I suppose you'll blame faulty electricity for all the red lights you ran."

He shrugged.

"And the expired parking meters?"

"I have no excuse."

"All the times you've parked on the sidewalk?"

"Those are on the record?"

"Every single time you've been caught doing it at least."

"Well geez, it's not like I hit anyone."

"You also parked in the same fire lane three times, and were charged with it three times."

"So I guess they didn't catch me doing that the fourth time..."

She rubbed her temple, taking a deep breath as she flipped a few pages of the stapled paper she had pulled out of the orange envelope. "I'm starting to think you want to go to jail, but are too scared to commit a real crime."

Hikaru didn't answer.

"That or he has a crush on the police officers wearing mini-shirts." Kaoru's laughter was heard over Hikaru's shoulder. "One of the two."

Hikaru had a biting urge to elbow his twin in the stomach. "Shut up."

"Hi, Haruhi." Kaoru piped up, grinning as he side-stepped away from his older brother, looking completely unfazed from their conversation that early morning. "Sorry, I didn't know you were coming this early. I thought it was two. Had I known I wouldn't have let this grumpy goose greet you in."

Haruhi bit her lip as Hikaru glared even colder at his brother. Looking as though he wanted to strangle him.

"Kaoru, don't you have something to do?"

"Nope."

His eye twitched. "Why don't you go find, Mayuki?"

"Hm, she probably doesn't want to talk to me today. Besides, Why would I leave Haruhi here alone with you? You're scary."

Hikaru opened his mouth to reply, but he decided against it. He just sighed and walked the opposite way as his brother went, dropping himself down in the furthest chair away from his lawyer. "Whatever."

When Haruhi wasn't looking, Kaoru stuck his tongue out at him, but turned around again before his brother could give him the middle finger like he wanted to.

He flapped his wrist towards his older sibling, scooting closer to her as they sat together on the couch. He leaned over the table and grabbed a small stack of papers that had his twin's record of unpaid tickets and casually flipped through it.

He closed his eyes when he glanced at all the violations. "Dude, seriously? How come I never knew you got a ticket for having an expired inspection sticker?"

Hikaru ignored him.

"He's had over two hundred violations in all. Since he was in college." Haruhi looked up at Hikaru, then looked away when she saw his lips had grown back into a snarl. "Which was two years ago. Your last ticket was last month."

Kaoru raised his brow at his twin. "And what was that for?"

Hikaru, again, didn't reply and just excused himself from his chair. Leaving his brother and Haruhi alone with his paperwork. They both watched him walk away, listening to his hallow footsteps against the floor we he headed up stairs.

Haruhi threw her file down on the table and dropped her face into her hands.

"Why does he do this to me? Why does he hate me so much that he refuses to get any of this paid off? He won't do it himself, I already tried." The brunette groaned into her fingers, clenching her jaw shut. "Why won't he let me help him? Why is he so difficult?"

She looked up at Kaoru, her eyes glazed with what looked like tears of desperation. "Why doesn't he do it at all?"

Kaoru shrugged, chewing on the skin of his lip. "I think you intimidate him."

"...How? He's the scary one."

"No, see..." He tightened his mouth as a line between his brows appeared. "Hikaru... He's scared of women, so-"

"Kaoru, shut the hell up, or I swear to god!"

"..."

"..."

Kaoru sank deep into the couch. "...Never mind."

* * *

Later that day, an hour or two had passed, Haruhi managed to get Hikaru out of his room by not leaving, and refusing to leave until he'd do some work, and pay off some things. He didn't say anything to her, or Kaoru, and just focused on his papers.

Haruhi didn't want to be a bother to him, and the last thing she wanted was to irritate him and make him hate her, but she really couldn't think of what she had done to make him hate her even before they said two words to each other the first time they met.

Maybe it was the way she talked, or maybe he thought that her voice was annoying, or maybe she wasn't attractive enough, or that her breath smelt funny.

Though her client didn't seem to be like that. It was almost as if he was hateful for no reason, but then that wouldn't make any sense.

What Kaoru had said earlier, about him being afraid of women in general could be it. Maybe Hikaru was gynophobia, or perhaps he simply was just an angry person. Since she had seen him before give attitude to his brother's in-law's, and even to his own mother and twin brother.

Something made Hikaru bitter towards others, and while it wasn't her business, and after being told multiple times by Hikaru himself that it wasn't, she still wanted to know.

She had a strange urge inside, that itched and scratched at her insides, and the back of her throat that made her want to help him. To find out what that reason was.

She wanted to fix him.

Staring at the very few papers she had clutched in her hand, Haruhi made a weird expression, tightening her fingers more, wrinkling the paper envelope.

Though she hoped she wasn't growing a sudden fond for the dark and mysterious.

 _Oh dear god..._

Her expression turned to disgust.

 _Am I attracted to him?_

 _No stop it Haruhi! You vowed that you were done with crazy people after you left Ouran! No more!_

"Haruhi?"

Her eye snapped open wide and she turned to her side, looking with her lips parted a she breathed. "...Yes, Mrs. Hitachiin?"

Yazuha smirked, patting the brunette's cheek. "You were mumbling to yourself. You don't like the outfit?"

Haruhi looked down at her skirt suit. "Oh, no. I was just thinking but... I can't accept this. I mean I could pay for it, but I don't have stab-"

The short haired woman laughed, waving her fingers. "Kaoru's right, you're so silly. You could have that outfit for free, it was last summer's design, it's practically garbage to me, now."

"...Oh."

"But it looks great on you! See, what did I tell you? Pink makes you look like a princess and it isn't even a dress."

She gasped. "That reminds me. I have this amazing cocktail dress in the back. It isn't pink, but I think it'd look gorgeous on you. You've got the perfect curves."

Haruhi looked down again. "I didn't think I had any curves but-"

"Is something bothering you, Haruhi? Is it this whole fiasco with Hikaru? I know, he's a stinker, but really. He's a good person if you get to know him better." Yazuha fluffed her hair, puckering her moist red lips in front of the mirror. "Though he was a pain in my neck originally anyway, so there's not much I can tell you as to keep him in check."

Feeling a sudden warm feeling on her shoulder, Haruhi gasped again, having hot breath roll down the side of her neck.

"Meaning, sometimes she wants to strangle her own sons sometimes." Kazuha spoke, smirking as she watched Haruhi fell into the closest chair. "By the way, I noticed that it's gotten kind of late, and I remember you saying that you had an evening class or something like that. Didn't you?"

She looked at the elder and stood up in a hurry. "That's right, I have that... _thing_ , later. I should go."

"Thank you, Mrs. Hitachiin, for the..." She looked down, then back up at the twins mother, as though referring to the work suit. "I uh... I stayed longer than I should have."

She turned around to leave, clenching her shoulders in awkwardness as she passed Kazuha. "Do you happen to know where Mr. Hitachiin and Kaoru went?"

"Mr. Hitachiin and Kaoru? Not Hikaru and Kaoru? Or the twins?" Kazuha. "Oooh, somebody has a crush on, _Kaoru_."

"W-what!? No! I was just... Mr. Hitachiin doesn't like it when I-"

"Mother, goodness. Kaoru's married." Yazuha laughed, touching the tip's of Haruhi's hair, making the young girl shiver. "Haruhi wouldn't be interested in a nice boy like him. She likes the fixer uppers."

"Oh boy, she's turning red."

"Okay, I'm leaving!" Haruhi exclaimed, throwing her hands up, swallowing hard as her ears burned with embarrassment. "I really, _really_ have to go."

"Oh Haruhi! You must come next week." Yazuha said, cupping her hand to her mouth. "You could model for me. If this lawyer business doesn't work out for you, I could get you a position."

Haruhi walked away, faster.

* * *

"It's raining..."

Haruhi groaned with her hands clenched shut. She stood on the porch of the Hitachiin mansion, glaring at the falling water that was hitting the ground like tiny knives cutting through the misty air.

She glanced up, her eyes slanting as she noticed a large, dark cloud that covered almost the whole sky. There was a rumble in the distance and she knew instantly of what that meant.

 _Crap..._

 _Not here, not here, not here. Please god not here._

She silently whined to herself and pulled her blazer over her head. Cautious not to slip as she stepped down the outside steps into the rain. It raised so fast and so hard that it sounded the same as if the whole ground was right below a waterfall.

Her clothes were soaked instantly, and water dripped from her forehead the second her hands graced the knob of her car. She took a deep breath as he fiddled with her key ring, having a hard time finding the one to her car, though eventually she found it and threw the door to her car open just enough for her to slip inside. Once inside she slammed it shut against the loud rain with a gasp.

Breathing heavily, Haruhi leaned her forehead against the wheel and without looking, tried to jab the key into the ignition. After a few fails she got it in and turned it but, nothing happened.

He looked down at the key and turned it again, but again... nothing happened.

The engine didn't turn over. It tried to, but failed. It couldn't. Something wouldn't let it.

Haruhi looked over at the gas light, and noticed it blared bright red. She gave it a weird expression until it clicked in her mind.

She was out of gas.

"I'm out of... gas?" She turned to look out the window. Looking at the Hitachiin mansion that was a foggy imagine passed the rain. Then, looked back at the light. "How Am I out of gas?! I don't run out of gas. It was half a tank when I got here. What happened?"

She looked at the passengers seat and grabbed her phone. She had left it in the car when she had went inside so no one would bother her while she was working. He held it and flipped it open, but the screen wouldn't appear. She pressed the power button, but nothing happened.

Her phone was also dead.

"...What? How did... I haven't even used it today!"

She threw it down on the seat and cursed under her breath.

She was stuck in the driveway of the Hitachiin's with no gas and no way to contact anyone, even her father, and she had a class in an hour and a half.

"...I'm stuck here."

She looked out the window again, watching the rain fall, and listening to the rumbling cloud getting closer.

"I'm stuck here during a thunderstorm..."

 _Damn it._


	7. Chapter 7

**The Undamaged Side**

* * *

Yazuha pressed her fingertips to her lips as she gasped. "Haruhi, you're soaked!"

And she was indeed soaked though her clothes. Her short brown hair was straight and dripped from the tips onto her wet shoulders. She stood in the entryway of the Hitachiin near the front door, her hands clutching her briefcase.

"I'm sorry," She muttered shamefully, staring at the floor. "When I left my apartment, I didn't know it would rain this hard today..."

"It's been raining quite a lot." The woman nodded, tapping her chin. "Well you can't stay in those wet clothes. They look uncomfortable."

"Oh no," Haruhi waved that suggestion off immediately. "I can't stay here... I... Have to get home. I was wondering if I could borrow a phone. Mine's dead."

Yazuha nodded, puckering her moist red lips, as she was formally sipping at her tea when Haruhi had knocked on the door through the furious pouring rain. "Of course. You can use the home phone. Kimiko will show you where it is. But... what do you need it for?"

"To call roadside assistance. My car it... it's out of gas."

"No phone and no car? You've got some luck today." Chuckling jokingly, Yazuha threw her arm out to the side, where a maid stood, with her hands clasped in front of her. "Kimiko, show Mrs. Fujioka to the phone would you? While I get her some dry clothes to slip into."

"Oh no, please." Haruhi pleaded, clenching her jaw as her briefcase was pulled away from her by a nameless butler. "I don't want to be to much of a bother. I wont stay long. I just need-"

"Tch, what kind of hosts would we be if we let you stand in our hallway, wetter than a fish," A familiar voice appeared over Yazuha's shoulder. Haruhi looked up to see Kaoru, beaming, full of his adored vigorousness.

He stepped up to her and curled his nose as he lifted a wet lock of hair with his finger. "And you smell like a wet dog."

Haruhi scoffed. "Yeah, thanks."

"Kaoru, honestly. Remember, I raised gentlemen." His mother scolded, snickering as she flipped her hair. "But he's right. I'll go see what I have in my studio upstairs. Feel free to help yourself to anything in the household."

Kaoru looked over his shoulder and watched as his mother practically skipped away. He looked down at her again with his usual soft eyes and poked her shoulder, feeling the wet fabric of her blazer beneath his fingertip.

"It's almost fate." He mused quietly and amusedly to himself, flicking her hair again.

Haruhi scowled. "What's fate? Being stranded?"

He smirked. "Who knows."

Patting her head, Kaoru stuck his hands in his pockets and leaned back on his heels. "I'll have a tow-truck called here to pick up your car. They could give you enough gas to get home."

"No, you don't have to do that." She protested again, awkwardly staring at the floor as Kimiko pulled away her blazer for her. She opened her mouth to stop her but the maid was already disappearing around the corner.

"She'll wash, and dry it for you." Kaoru answered her silent unspoken question as though he read her mind. "It's really coming down out there, isn't it?"

Haruhi felt even more awkward under the simple small-talk. "I... was on my way home but-"

"I get it." He gave her a pat on her head and smoothed out her wet bangs. "Though... the clouds are making it really hard to see out there. It's gotten really dark all of a sudden."

A smirk grew across his creamy cheeks.

"You might have to stay the night."

Haruhi's frown of discomfort finally appeared and she lifted her hand up to call back the maid who had taken her shirt. "No... I can't. That's too much. I've already over stayed my welcome here."

He raised his brow, his smirk fading but only a little. "It'd be selfish to make any driver drive in this weather. This storm is the worst it's been all week. There's no way anyone can drive when its pitch black and with the road wet."

He shrugged, leaning closer to her. "So it's really no problem. We don't have a lot of company over so it's different."

"Kaoru..." she murmured, biting the side of her lip as she stared at him oddly with a suspicious glint in her eye. "Why are you being so nice to me?"

"What so you mean?"

"You've just... been so unnaturally nice to me. With lunch, and apologies, and you welcome me inside like you want me here and now... you're going to let me spend the night... Why?"

Kaoru looked at her, unblinking. "Like... a decent human being would?" He laughed. "I don't understand."

"No... your whole family is like that." She corrected herself, frowning at the floor. "Your mother is upstairs getting me a new outfit and you... you're... you."

Kaoru smirked again.

"But, Hikaru... He's-" She paused, as her forehead creased, thinking too hard. "I shouldn't stay here. I don't want to make anyone uncomfortable."

"Don't worry about, Hikaru. I know he's been difficult with all this... court mumbo-jumbo, but he's just got a lot on his plate right now." Kaoru's face dropped completely. "He isn't always grumpy. He's more... depress-"

Kaoru's last word was cut off as a hand suddenly came up from behind him and covered his mouth. His eyes went wide but he relaxed as the hand felt familiarly soft.

"...Stop talking." Hikaru hissed in his ear, causing an uncomfortable shiver to run down his spine. He turned his head, glaring at the shivering girl before him. "What are you still doing here?"

Haruhi's voice caught dead in her throat. She turned to Kaoru, as he stepped out of his older brother's reach, and the compacted force of his hand.

"She's spending the night, Hikaru."

"No she isn't."

"Don't be rude. It's raining outside, Hika."

"I don't care. It isn't that bad. She can drive home."

Kaoru, scowled, reprimanding his twin. "Hika. It's a thunder storm, and her car's out of gas. It isn't safe for anyone to be out driving."

Hikaru's exression darkened, making Haruhi shudder even despite the dampness of her blouse. "There's no room."

"There's fifteen guest bedrooms, Hika. There's _too much_ room."

He wouldn't give. "You're not welcome here."

Kaoru turned to her. "Ignore him."

Hikaru turned to his brother, turning him by his shoulder. "Can I talk to you alone for a minute?"

The sound of his voice made Kaoru know that it wouldn't be pleasant. He sighed and excused them both away from Haruhi and reluctantly stumbled behind his brother as he pulled at his shirt sleeve.

They stopped as they turned the corner of the wall, Hikaru lightly pushed him against the wall. His face glowering angrily.

"What are you doing?"

Kaoru battered his eyelashes innocently. "What?"

"You know she can't stay here. What's the matter with you?" Peeved, Hikaru tightened his knuckled, clutching Kaoru's shirt between his fingers. "She doesn't belong here. You said that yourself, didn't you?"

"I never said anything about her not belonging anywhere." Kaoru defended, pushing his brother's hand away. "I said with _us_. She doesn't deserved to be around anyone like _us_. But it has nothing to do with you," his voice turned to a hushed whisper. "the _curse_ , or anything. Don't you know how to be a nice person?"

"And where has _being nice_ gotten you, Kaoru?"

"Quite far actually. I'm married. You're not. Do the math."

With his brow furrowed, Hikaru gaped his mouth open, ready to continue, but Kaoru stopped him and pushed him aside. "I don't understand why you're like this, Hikaru."

"You know full well."

Kaoru stopped and looked over his shoulder. "Do you have feelings for your lawyer?" He repeated Hikaru's earlier words.

Which wasn't amusing to the older one.

"Of course not."

Kaoru shrugged and walked away. "Than there's nothing to worry about, is there?"

Hikaru watched his brother walk away. He chewed on the inside of his cheek until he tasted blood on his tongue. His hot skin tightened around his own flesh and tried to push down the nagging urge to rip his confining clothes from his body.

He balled his hand and rammed the side of his fist into the closest wall, shivering, trying to subdue his emotions. He looked towards the sounds of his mother talking, fawning over 'the perfect outfit' and Hikaru turned the other way.

"Hikaru-kun?" A timid voice came behind him as he fled to the upstairs. "Is something wrong?"

He looked at the maid who held an armful of blankets and a few essential towels. "What are you doing?"

"Kaoru-kun asked to have a room set for, Mrs. Fujioka."

He clenched his fist into his hoodie jacket and ticked his tongue behind his teeth. Noticing that she was headed towards the direction of the stairs.

"That sly bastard."

* * *

It was still raining hard during dinner, though while they ate, Hikaru was not present. He had excused himself earlier and hadn't come back to join them. Kaoru was worried that he might have been feeling bad again, but considering Haruhi was there, he doubted that.

Even despite the thickness of the walls, the rain drops could still be heard against the windows. Splashing, making small narrow rivers in the gutters.

Recently, dinners at her and her father's apartment were always lonely and quiet. They'd barely talk to each other, and when they would, it would be about work and how she needed a man.

Dinner at the Hitachiin's was light and full of livelihood. Kazuha teased Kaoru whenever there was a pause in the conversation, Yazuha never closed her mouth or sat down her glass, as she went on and on about an upcoming fashion shoot she wanted her to attend. The twin's father and grandfather were quiet though, only speaking to add to someone's statement or when they were spoken to.

"The best photo would be the cover of Tokyo's fashion times magazine." Yazuha's eyelashes battered, as she laid her chin on her palm. "My boys model all my designs. Haruhi you'd look perfect in some of my new stuff."

With a fork still in her mouth, Haruhi turned away from Kaoru and arched her brow. "Oh no," she chewed. "I couldn't... I don't model."

"But you'd look good doing it." Kaoru tipped his brow, but she ignored it.

His father squinted his eye. "Now Kaoru, don't embarrass her. She's not interested in married men."

At the mention of him being married period, Kaoru silently silenced himself and pouted, staring at his half empty plate.

Haruhi opened her mouth without thinking. "Where... _is_ your wife?"

The whole table became silent after those few words slipped passed her lips. Instantly regretting it, Haruhi licked her lip in awkwardness, but a heavy sigh from Kaoru interrupted the silence.

"She rarely eats dinner here anymore," he said lightly. If he was bothered by her words he masked it fairly well with a smirk. "And Hikaru just isn't-"

"I know why. He doesn't want to be in the same room as me."

"...How do-?"

"I knew he didn't want me here." Haruhi answered, poking at her plate she had finished long ago, but was given a third serving. "I didn't want to stay here longer than I had to because I didn't want to make him feel uncomfortable."

"I forgot to ask..." He changed the subject. His smirk darkened evilly as he reached for her hand. "Do you have a boyfriend?"

"...No?"

"Cool." He dropped her hand and reached into his pocket. "Here's Hikaru's phone number. Don't tell him though, it'll be funny."

She held a hand up to push the piece of paper back over to him. Shaking her head. "No thanks. He isn't my type."

He frowned. "He's everyone's type."

"Not mine. And I don't think I'm his either."

"Alright, Kaoru." His mother spoke up, eyeing him as he tipped her glass back. "Leave her alone." Then her own smirk spread across her rosy cheeks. "She's had a long day. I think she'll want to hit the sack early tonight. Tomorrow before you leave you're car will be fixed right up."

"Thank you, Mrs. Hitachiin."

"Oh, you can call me Yazuha."

"Oh... Okay."

 _...Even though I'd prefer not to._

* * *

"This house is so big..." Haruhi was barely able to close her mouth against the awe. "How many rooms is there in this place?"

Kaoru made a face at the floor as he lead her up the stairs. His bit his lip and tucked her hands into his pockets.

"I'm not sure," he answered in a mumble. "Sometime I loose count, but there's twenty _bed_ rooms. That's not including the pool house. It has it's own apartment on the upper floor."

Her eyes nearly bulged out of her head. "Is all that necessary?"

"No. But it makes us feel rich with all the cool stuff we have." He chuckled, throwing his arm to the side, gesturing a vase that was perched happily on the top of a pedestal. "Likes that... I don't even know why we have so many vases. They're too expensive to put flowers in, yet they've been in the family, so we can't just get rid of it."

"Your family has a pretty interesting history than? It seems like you've bee rich for awhile."

His face went blank and he quickly looked ahead. "Well... no. There isn't anything interesting about us. We're... as ordinary as they get."

"Oh... I just thought that since-"

"Honestly, none of this stuff's been in the family that long. I think that's the vase grandmother stole from some old lady's house, when she found out she was dying, because she didn't like her."

Haruhi curled her nose, clutching her briefcase that had been dried for her. "...That's awful."

"And grandfather bought this mansion when he and grandmother got married. They just paid to renovate it, modernize it. It's only been in the family for a couple decades. Nothing special."

Kaoru suddenly stopped, cutting himself off from saying anything else. He glanced at the door that was next to his brother's and his face changed completely, laying a grin on his lips.

"This place is really big and we wouldn't want you getting lost." He said, opening the door with an evil smirk, which she didn't notice. "So, just in case, you can have the closest room to mine." He pointed a finger towards a door across the narrow hall. "Unless you'd rather bunk with me instead."

"I wouldn't want to bother you. And are you sure your wife would appreciate my room being so close to your guy's room?"

He winked. "Mayu's room is down the hall. I don't think she could are less. And... she isn't here tonight I guess."

He held a hand up before she could ay anything about that. "Well! You don't have to worry about that. You must be tired. I hope the room isn't to creepy. We don't a lot of guests." _None at all in fact..._ "There's a button on your dresser if you need a maid's assistance."

The only thing she could do was blink. "Oh... _Okay_. Thank you, Kaoru."

He didn't say anything more. He smiled, then turned around. Leaving her alone, just facing the door. Biting her lip, she latched her hand on the door knob and easily pushed it aside, revealing the large guest bedroom and all it's glamour.

Instantly she was greeted with a warm inviting aroma of sweet smelling lavender. She didn't move an inch as she stared in awe at the pale floral pattered wallpaper. The large canopy bed that was in the middle. Millions of cloud white pillows showered the heavy comforter. With the dark polished antique furniture in every corner. In the windowsill laid a daybed, covered in mint green fabrics, and a cushioned bench at the footboard of the queen bed.

The room was extravagant, and she could tell that they held no restraint for decorating. There was even a flowerless Victorian vase in the corner on the vanity table.

As her shoulders were relaxing, she let her hand drop from the doorknob, and walked into the room. She sighed and was about to close it behind her, when her nerves suddenly forced her to nearly slam it shut when a growl of thunder pierced her ears.

It was going to be a long night...

* * *

The large windows lit up bright from a flash of white lighting. The thick, garnet drapes kept most of the light out. The slits in the curtains made thin strips of the flash on the floor of the hall, and the sound of the crash was loud and crackling.

The soft creaking of a door came shortly afterwards as a door was slowly opened. Haruhi pressed her fingertips to the wood, holding it open just enough for her to slip out of the bedroom.

Her knees trembled. Her teeth sunk into her bottom lip she almost broke skin. It was now two in the morning, so she figured the whole household was asleep. She could barely lay her head down on her pillow let alone sleep. The thunder was too loud. She couldn't stop crying.

She couldn't feel comfortable in the room that wasn't hers. She couldn't relax. She needed to leave. It was still raining but she needed to get to her car. She didn't care if she had to sleep in there, and be closer to the rain, and the thunder. She just couldn't be in the house anymore. It was too awkward.

Haruhi tried to remember which way to go in the large house from when Kaoru was walking her to her room. It was dark and silent except for her pitter-patter-like footsteps. She didn't hear anything else.

It didn't take long after the lighting for the thunder to appear. It growled like an angry lion and she jumped. She moved to cling to the wall as her knees nearly gave away, but her palms didn't touch the cold wall.

They touched something soft and warm. There was a gasp that hadn't come from her, and she froze in place. Her eyes darting up to see what she was touching so closely.

Her eyes opened wide in shock when her gaze was met with a pair of golden ones, looking down at her with the same shocked expression.

She gasped louder as she noticed she was resting her hands on their bare chest. Though it took her a moment to pull herself away from them, being to distracted by looking too long.

She could barely find her voice. "Ka-... Kaoru. I-"

"Wrong one..."

She immediately jumped back. "Hikaru?!"

"What're you doing?" Hikaru looked down at her, the look of disapproval written all over her face. "Do you have any idea what time it is?"

Her eyes and mouth were still wide open. "...Do you have any idea that... you have... no _shirt_ on?"

His eyes narrowed, and suddenly, as soon as she pointed it out, he felt all the more naked. "Yes? I've been aware of it since I took my shirt _off_."

"I... haven't."

He ignored that, her tone firm and like a growl. "Do you know that it's 2am? Everyone's asleep but you."

"And _you_."

"I don't count."

She nodded, licking her lower lip anxiously. "I-...I Know. But, I can't stay here. I..."

"Well you sure the hell pick a nice time of night to decide that. Not when it was still light out."

"I'm sorry, but... it's just too awkward here. I can't... anymore." She looked over her shoulder, as though she thought something would come out and get her. "I don't want to-"

"Your car is out of gas, so you wouldn't be able to go anyway," He glared, his hands hanging form from his pant pockets. "Isn't that what you said?"

Lighting then decided that it was the perfect time to flash. The electric strike made her shoulders quiver, but the slit in the curtains let the flash sneak through at the right angle where she got a full clear vision of Hikaru standing beside her.

His unruly auburn hair was damp and clung to the back of his neck. He wore only a pair of jeans and pants, and she guessed that he had just gotten out of the shower but each room had it's own private bathroom, the fact that he was wondering around the halls half dressed made no sense.

Though she wouldn't admit it out loud... she really wasn't complaining.

Wearing his tight shirts but with his hoodies she couldn't ever tell what he'd look like, but now... She wondered just how much effort he put into himself. And how much time he spent at the gym.

Why was he single...?

Hikaru continued to give her a weird look, even after the light from the lighting faded. His lips twitched as he was about to say something but the resonant roar of the thunder boomed again and he cut himself short as Haruhi squealed, and fell to her knees.

And in truths, he was kind of freaked out.

He looked over his shoulder, his mouth making shapes as though he was talking, but no words came out. He looked down at her as she covered her ears and he truly had no idea what to do.

He took a step, cringing. He looked around, still confused until he hear whimpering.

Hikaru made a face of disgust, looking down at her as though she was toxic waste on the floor.

"...I'll just... let you deal with that then..."

He went to turn around, but before he could turn his head, he saw tears welding and falling down across her cheeks from the moonlight. He sighed, cursing Fumiko for all his problems under his breath before he stepped back up to her, kneeling as he grabbed her wrist.

"You'll wake everyone up," he pulled her to her feet again with a grumble. "Go back to bed."

Her throat clogged. "...But-"

"Don't argue."

Her eyes, dark brown and fogged with tears looked up towards his face, consuming the annoyed frown on his face. She didn't want to be a bother, which was why she was trying to leave and sleeping her car instead where she wouldn't bother her fear with any of the strangers who's house she was in, but apparently it was inevitable.

Not only did Hikaru show her back to her door, he held her wrist and walked her into her room, forcing his hands on her shoulders, making her sit on the bed. She moped at her face with the ball of her palm and opened her mouth to say something to him, but didn't, as she wasn't sure what words would be appropriate.

Then, after turning her light off, Hikaru left without a word, leaving her in the midst of his wake.

Another rumble was heard as he shut the door, but she was too taken aback by him that she hadn't noticed.

* * *

The next morning, as the tiny birds were beginning to chirp, to wake everyone up. Though what woke Haruhi was a pair earbuds in her ears, humming soft music into her head.

But she had no idea where they had come from. As the earbuds didn't belong to her.


	8. Chapter 8

**Siphoned**

* * *

The next morning, Haruhi was especially eager to leave the Hitachiin mansion. Earlier, she wouldn't have thought it was so bad to go there for a few hours to work out the law with her client, but after spending the night, she had realized just how strange the Hitachiin family was.

At first she had thought it was just large and extravagant. The house and all that was in it was fit for a king, though there was something else about it. Something behind it made it eerie. The walls and floors creaked at night, everything, even if the sun was up, looked dark and creepy. The corners were pitch black, the curtains were black at midnight, The storm last night echoed throughout the house, shaking the windows.

It was already difficult for her to sleep against the thunder and lightening. But the house itself... She had a strange feeling every time she turned a corner. Her stomach wanted to turn. She felt sick every time she'd touch a doorknob to one of the doors. Though it was a feeling that quickly left her as soon as she stepped through the front door onto the patio.

"Leaving so soon, Haruhi?" Yazuha spoke up, holding her briefcase. "It's so early."

"I have to talk to my professor, to see if I could take the class I missed, again. I'm sorry again for all this. I had no idea I'd have to spend the night."

She giggled, an evil glint behind her eye. "It's alright. It's nice to have other girls here other than those two ding-a-lings."

Kaoru shrugged. "Just as long as I'm your favorite."

She gave a pat to his shoulder. "Of course darling. Hikaru barely even says 'hi' to me anymore."

He nodded.

Haruhi politely took her bag from Yazuha's hand and stepped back out onto the large porch. Her cheeks burned from embarrassment after what happened last night, she didn't think she could take seeing Hikaru again.

He had walked up to her without half his clothes on, witnessed her crying, fruitlessly fighting back her fear. And if that wasn't bad enough, he had helped her into her bedroom, and into bed. She didn't remembered what happened afterwards, as she must have fallen asleep, but she had woken up with earbuds to her ears.

Halfway down the steps, she stopped. Retrieving the said buds out of her pocket, she made her way back to the door before Kaoru could shut it and held them out.

"I almost forgot to give you back these." She muttered, a frown plastered on her flustered cheeks. "You must have left them in my room."

Kaoru didn't say anything as she laid the long white string of the headphones on his palm. She looked down at them and raised his brow. He opened his mouth to correct her, but he quickly shut it and just smiled.

"Thanks."

Yazuha glanced between the both of them with a suspicious eye but quickly let it go and gasped, seeing her eldest son finally crawl out of his cave that morning from the corner of her eye. She gripped Kaoru shoulder so tight he had to look at her, and instantly he caught on to her silent scheme.

"Are you sure you don't want to wait inside until the tow truck gets here?" He spoke up, stopping Haruhi from turning around. "No sense in waiting in your car for fifteen minutes for it to get here with gas."

"Oh no, it's fine. I have paperwork to full out and i'll just do it in the car. I don't want to bother you anymore."

Hikaru, who had just came from upstairs, glanced over towards them all and shook his head, putting his jacket on.

"Nonsense. It's fine."

"I shouldn't."

"You should. It'll do no harm."

"It looks like you don't have a choice on the matter." The twin's father piped up, walking up towards them with his phone in hand. "News says the storm blew down a tree on the main east road. The one leading into town. Traffic is blocked until it gets cleared away."

Haruhi sighed. "But... That's the road I take to my appartment."

Kaoru shurgged again, smrikgin as he slipped his hands itno his pockets. "Looks like your stuck... Unless..." he rolled his head until he was looking at his brother. "Well... I would drive you, Haruhi, i really would, but my car is in the shop."

"...I can take a bus."

"That'll be so much longer though, the west road takes you so far down that it'll take twice as long and there isn't any bus stops."

"I'll manage."

Kaoru frowned, waving his hand towards his twin. "Hika, don't you have any input?"

Hikaru didn't even bother to turn his back. "Bye."

"Oh I know! Hika can drive you."

"Hell to the No."

"Oh come on Hika. You're not doing anything today."

Hikaru glared. "I said no. You drive her. Take my car, I don't care."

"But I can't." Kaoru pouted, his lower lip slowly exceeded outwards. "I have to stay here. Mayuki left the day before yesterday and... You know."

"Why the hell do you let her stay gone that long?"

"...She's independent."

"Independent my ass."

"Alright, alright, let's not argue." Yazuha threw her hands up, reprimanding her sons. "You're in the presence of a lady. Hika, be a dear and help out."

Hikaru looked away from them all and began walking away to look himself back into his bedroom. "No."

Everyone in the room was silent as Yazuha's heels clicked against the floor while she made her way to her eldest son. Kaoru took that time to comment on Haruhi's hair so she wouldn't notice the woman whisper something in Hikaru's ear. She smirked the entire time, as though she enjoyed tugging on the strings of the twin's personal lives.

"Fine." He gave in with a growl that rumbled like thunder.

He shot the short, innocent brunette a death-glare before snatching his car keys from the maid that held them out to him. The young girl squeaked as his hands roughly brushed against hers and she immediately fled to stand behind the more gentle twin.

Haruhi flinched as he stepped her. Her shoulders tensed, feeling the air he made swish near her skin. She could almost feel the heat from his anger flow off him in waves, and truly, she didn't want to be near him at all. Not to mention to sit in the car with him for half an hour.

She wanted to argue, and say that she could sit outside and wait for the roads to clear up so she could get some gas for her car, but the Hitachiin's were rather insistent and arguing with the very people who had lent her a room of their house to her for the night felt wrong.

Though taking up anymore of anyone of their time felt wrong, too.

Kaoru waved his fingers towards her and his brother as they walked out the door. He bit his lip, trying hard to conceal his wide smile but eventually, or rather, once the door shut and they were out of sight and ear shot, he smirked widely held his hand against the door. As though he was holding it shut so no one could get back in.

"Oh gosh, I can't believe my brother is that stupid. He's so gullible it's almost sad." He sighed.

His father chuckled, sitting himself down in a chair near the window, flicking his newspaper open. "He's going to be mad when he finds out there was no fallen trees."

Yazuha propped her hands on her hips, casting her son the evilest smirk. "How did your car end up in the shop again, Kaoru?"

"I didn't do anything, It's fine. But apparently Hika doesn't know that." He shrugged. "By the way, where's grandmother?"

"Washing the stench of gasoline away. Siphoning someone's gas tank without them noticing is quite difficult."

"Ah yes. Remind me to ask her how she did that while killing Haruhi's phone at the same time."

"Your grandfather will have to take credit for that."

The three of them had a good laugh as they watched Hikaru and Haruhi from the window. And during all this, Hikaru had no idea that his whole family was playing the game of life against him.

* * *

Haruhi sat in the passenger seat of Hikaru's silver Audi s6. Pressing her knees together impossibly tight from the awkwardness that filled the car.

Nearly the whole ride had been nothing but silence. Hikaru's last words to her were " _Get in_ " when they had first left and he hadn't said anything else to her. Occasionally she would try to engage in conversation, but he would answer any of her questions, nor did he even tell her to 'shut up'. This the first time being alone since that time in the café and she didn't want a replay of that day so she tried to stay away from touching topics.

Though with men like Hikaru, she was sure that every topic was touchy and she was definitely not wanted anywhere around his 'business'.

She scratched her feet against the soft floorboard, chewing on her lip anxiously.

"...I'm... sorry about last night."

His lips didn't move, nor did his eyes twitch away from the road.

"I... must have made it awkward."

He gripped the steering wheel, glancing towards his window as he turned a corner. "Don't worry about it."

Her heart stalled in her chest as he finally spoke. She squeezed her jacket tighter against her arms as she shivered, hearing the firmness of his tone.

"I would have taken a bus. I didn't expect your mother to insist that I don't."

Hikaru hesitated, adjusting the review mirror away from himself. "I know why she did it. They're all a bunch of jackasses who don't understand the meaning 'personal space and 'other people's business' they clearly don't have any right to stick their faces into."

She looked out her window, sucking in her lower lip passed her teeth. She may have liked it better when he didn't talk. His words always seemed so cruel and aggressive.

"Have you called the court office? The hearing is next month..."

"I don't care about that stuff. You're my lawyer, you do it."

"...I'm... not really a lawyer yet. I'm only an attorney's assistant."

The car came to an instant halt and they were both jerked out of their seats. Haruhi's heart nearly stopped as she thought she had said something wrong, until she noticed the stop sign and a woman waving at them apologetically.

"Damn it, woman are so stupid."

She looked over at Hikaru, hugging herself tighter against her blazer. "...It's a crosswalk. People are allowed to walk across it."

"When the light's red. Not green."

She smirked, looking away. "Thank god you didn't run her over then. I'd have to get you a real lawyer."

"Please."

"Look, I'm trying to cooperate. It's not my fault you despise my entire existence." She grumbled without thinking. "I didn't want to spend the light at your house, and to be honest, it was kind of creepy."

Hikaru waited for the road to be clear before driving again. "Is that why you tried to leave in the middle of the night?"

"I didn't try to leave, I just..."

"I know."

"You don't know anything."

"I know why you were in the hallway. Not everyone walks around like a zombie at two in the morning crying because there's a little rain outside."

She turned away, her nose curled in a scowl. "Oh yeah, cause I really thought you weren't going to notice."

"Though I don't really understand what difference it would make. I don't think the rain sounds any different depending on the room you're in."

"It doesn't. It isn't about it sounding different. It's about not hearing it at all."

Hikaru shook his head, tightening his jaw as he tried to keep himself from talking any more. "You're complicated."

She wanted to laugh. "Says you. The guy who doesn't even want to talk to his lawyer about why he can't drive properly. Is it that secretive?"

"But that's the thing," He paused, staring out the windshield. "You're not my lawyer, you're the court's attorney's assistant."

"I don't want to say that, that sounded as though you were insulting me, so I'll ignore that comment."

Staring into the tinted darkness of his black sunglasses, Hikaru turned another corner, without paying attention, and suddenly Haruhi piped up again.

"You just turned on red. There's a sign that clearly tells you ' _Do_ _not_ ' turn on red."

"Don't distract the driver."

"Apparently the driver is already distracted because you're not paying attention."

"No one noticed. No one died. It's fine."

"It's not fine. Is this the attitude you have when you get pulled over my police? "No one died. It's fine?" Obviosuly it isn't."

"You are certainly not someone I would get drunk with."

"I don't drink alcohol."

"Ah, so that's your problem."

Haruhi pinched her lips together, folding her arms over her chest in discouragement. "My problem? Maybe you're the problem. You're angry for no reason. You don't have to walk around like the Christmas Grinch year round."

Hikaru gripped the steering wheel again, grasping the leather painfully with his fingers. "I think you're walking into somewhere where you don't belong. _Again_."

"We could at least pretend to like each other?" Tilting to the side, she tried to look out the rearview mirror to see what was behind them, but it was facing too much towards her that there was no way Hikaru would be able to see out It.

"I don't have to like you," he stated scornfully. "we're not friends."

"Do you have any friends?"

"Do _you_ have any friends?"

"I used to, but I'm not in contact with any of them anymore." Her brow slanted, rolling her eyes to him, watching carefully as he drove. "Is that a way to avoid my question?"

"I don't want friends," he answered, the expression his eyes shown was hidden from her from behind his glasses. "nor do I need them."

Now personally irritated with it, Haruhi reached to tilt the mirror right so it faced perfectly straight, but as her fingers brushed it, tilting it towards him, he slapped her hand and she pulled back instantly.

"Don't touch it."

His hand wasn't want made her pull away, she would have argued with him until she had gotten what she wanted but it was what she saw in the mirror that made her back into her seat as far as she could.

It was nothing.

She tilted the mirror towards him, but there was nothing in the glass. Hikaru's reflection wasn't there.

Haruhi moved close to the center console, looking into the mirror again but the only thing she could see was the headrest of the seat Hikaru was sitting in. From the mirror's perspective, Hikaru wasn't there.

She turned, and Hikaru was clearly sitting beside her.

He just wasn't there in the mirror.

She turned, looking out the side window. The sun that made it's way out from behind the clouds made her very faint reflection show, but as she tilted a little, Hikaru's reflection was neither there or anywhere.

Grabbing her phone, she flipped it open as the screen was still black, and tilted it backwards until she saw the steering wheel, but his hands weren't there. Her hand quickly shut the phone as the car came to another immediate stop. Her body stiffened as he turned to her, his eyes hidden behind his shades.

" _Get out_."

Haruhi flinched. "I... I wasn't doing anything. I was jus-"

"This is your apartment, isn't it?"

 _Oh thank god. I can leave now._

She looked out the window and sighed in relief. She grabbed her bag and tightened her other hand on her blazer. Suddenly, she left the urgency to get as far away from Hikaru as possible, more than before.

"Hurry up." He grumbled, raising his lip in disgust. "looking out the window, adjusting the mirror again. "This place reeks of poor people."

She shook her head, opening the door. "What you smell... are my neighbors."

"Funny... They smell the same."

"I never knew you could smell... poorness."

He scoffed, curling his nose as though he really was smelling something dreadful. "Ever open a wallet full of money?"

"I've never thought about smelling it, no."

"Well it smells the exact opposite of that."

"...Screw you."

* * *

"Dad!"

Haruhi opened the door to her and her father's apartment. She threw her bag down on the floor without a care and began shrugging off her blazer to hang on the hook on the wall. She kicked off her shoes by the door and cracked her knuckles.

"The day's barely even started and I just want to be done."

There was a loud crash and she gasped holding her hand to her chest.

"What the-"

"Ahhh!"

She screamed as a baseball hit the wall near her head and felt her heart fall to the pit of her stomach. "Holy shit dad! What're you doing!?"

"Haruhi! Stay still, daddy will protect you!"

Ryoji turned the corner, sticking his head out from around the wall that lead to the kitchen. His hands clutched a baseball bat so tight his knuckles were white.

Haruhi threw her arms out, pressing her back against the front door. "What're you doing?! Put the bat _down_."

Her father blinked, he turned, looking at both her sides. He looked over his shoulder, then tilted his body slightly to look behind her. He sighed and dropped his hands to his side. "Jesus, Haruhi. I thought you were a burglar."

"...No. No I'm not."

Her face hardened. "Where have you been? You left early yesterday morning, you didn't come back before dinner, I come home from work and you still weren't home. What were you doing and why is it so hard for you to call once in a while? To at least let me know what you're doing?"

"...It's been a long two days for the both of us," she heaved, casually stepping passed him. "My phone died. My car ran out of gas, both of which, happened while I was at the Hitachiin's mansion. It started raining so I couldn't leave until they next day. They were nice enough to let me spend the night."

He gasped. "You spent the night? With who? Did they give you your own room? You didn't bunk with that little one did you? He's been flirting you with more often than he should."

She ignored him. "It's fine dad. Nothing happened. And the little one's Kaoru. And he hasn't been flirting with me. He's just nice."

He set the bat up against the wall. "He's nicer than a married man should be."

"Honestly dad. I have worse problems to worry about."

"Like...?"

"My client doesn't have a reflection." Haruhi said, then, as she was unbuttoning her blouse, she stopped. "...That sounded a lot less crazy in my head."

"Your client?" Ryoji blinked, arching his brow. "Who's your client?"

"Hikaru."

"Oh yes. Hikaru Hitachiin. I thought you meant someone else." His brow furrowed. "And he doesn't have a reflection?"

"No. He doesn't. He doesn't have a face when I looked at him in the mirror. He didn't have one. It was like he wasn't there." she grumbled, hand gesturing. "But... I looked... and he was there."

Walking behind her, he put a hand to her forehead. "Haru, I think you need a nap."

"...No. I have to call my professor. I need to go to the university and..." she cured under her breath, turning around to face him. "Dad I'm serious. There's something wrong with him. Do you think Kaoru's like that too?"

"...I think you need a nap." He repeated, taking her shirt.

"No. I don't have time."

"Haruhi?"

"What?"

"...Where's your car?"

"..."

"..."

"It's not here."

"Then it's nap time."

"You think I'm crazy."

"I don't think you're crazy. I just think you need a nap."

"But he had nothing! There was nothing there!"

"Shhh. It's okay. We won't talk about the bad man with no face. Maybe a bubble bath before a nap. Okay?"

"But..."

"No buts."

 _He really had no reflection._

* * *

The moment Hikaru got home, and threw his bedroom door open, he was greeted with his brother sitting on his bed, with his chin propped on his hands _._ Kaoru kicked his feet grinning suggestively.

Hikaru spared him none. "What the hell? Get off my bed. I'm still mad at you."

Kaoru grinned, but still did as he said and sat on the edge of the bed instead. "So, you know what I found?"

"Do I want to know?"

"Your headphones in Haruhi's bedroom."

"It's not her bedroom. She was borrowing it."

"I still found your headphones in there. Well... actually Haruhi gave them to me thinking they were mine, but.. that still doesn't change the fact that they were with her."

"What're you getting at?"

He couldn't contain himself. "Did you guys make babies?"

Hikaru grabbed a random jar that he didn't even know what of, and immediately threw it at his brother, aiming for his head. "Shut up. _Leave_. Leave _right now_."

Kaoru didn't even have to move, as the jaw flew right over his head. "Did you at least think about it? You thought about it didn't you? If you're a real man look me in the eye and say that you might have possible could have thought about it."

"Buzz off." Hikaru wanted to throw something else, but decided not to trash his bedroom. "We didn't do anything. I don't like her, and I never will like her. Leave me alone. Go bug someone else."

" _Oooh_ , You sound irritated."

"A little, yeah."

Kaoru stuck his lip out in fake sympathy. "Are you sad you had to take your girlfriend home?"

"I'm not having this conversation with you anymore. Where's your wife?"

"Well... Her parents dropped her off here earlier while you were gone, they had a few words to say to me." He shrugged. "They weren't kind words, and Mayuki hasn't said _one_ word to me since being back and has locked herself in her room."

Hikaru stuck his lip out, using the same tone his brother just used on him. "Are you sad that your wife is ignoring you?"

"Don't do that."

"Get off my bed."

"What for? You're the only one I have to talk to right now. Everyone went to work."

"I'm taking a nap."

"It's noon."

"I was up late last night."

" _Oooh_. Up late huh?"

"Don't make me hurt you."


	9. Chapter 9

**Bleeding Out**

* * *

It had been two weeks since the last time the Hitachiin's had seen Haruhi.

None of them thought very much about it, neither did she, and Hikaru was beginning to think he was done with her for good until the court meeting. After that, he wouldn't have anymore need for a lawyer and he's never have to see her again.

No matter what he'd do, to try to offend her, to make her go away, or even hurt her feelings, it wouldn't work. If he offended her she'd just come back unscratched, and no matter what he'd say, she was just too dense to understand that he was intentionally trying to hurt her.

It irritated him to no end. She was too concerned about him and his problems to realize that she wasn't wanted. His family wasn't helping very much either. Which annoyed him even more.

His family was against everything that he wanted. He didn't care what was happening to him. He didn't care if he'd live to see next year. He just didn't care. If he had cared, he would be married, to the very first girl he had real feelings for, but would be stuck in a relationship she wouldn't want.

He didn't care if he was getting hurt, as long as it was preventing him from hurting others.

It truly wasn't that bad. The virus was killing him, but what could he do about it? Someone was always getting hurt, and so often that it just wasn't right.

Fumiko made sure they were to never hurt another person the way Aritomo had, but she forever wanted us to hurt, no matter what, for her heartache. She was more concerned about emotion pain rather than physical, and didn't care that whoever held the Hitachiin blood in their veins, they'd be able to hurt people without even wanting to, with no avoiding it.

Which was what he was trying to do. _Avoid it_.

No one understood it. Except one person who wanted nothing to do with any of them, but was stuck in the family for the rest of her life.

Hikaru was lounging on the couch now. A cup of coffee balancing on his hand. It was half empty now, but he was having a hard time finishing it off. Considering it was his second cup, he wasn't surprised.

He glanced over to his said to stare at his sister-in-law who was slipping on her shoes. Her long raven hair was pulled back in a messy bun and her hoodie was half open. She really didn't look like she was ready to go anywhere, but he knew she wouldn't stay long.

He turned and laid his neck against the headrest of the sofa, staring at the ceiling. "Where are you going?"

Mayuki barely spared him a glance. "Since when have you been concerned?"

"I'm too tired to be concerned with what you do, but Kaoru will be."

She looked away at the mention of her husband, not saying another word as she began tying her shoes.

Hikaru took a deep breath, easing more into the cushions. "Whether you two have problems or not, there's certain things you have to do for each others. It's just how it is."

"Of course it is," she scoffed, gripping the zipper of her hoodie, "that's how it is all the time with this family."

"We both know it's not the family you hate. It's just, Kaoru."

"Then again, I wouldn't hate Kaoru had it not been for the family. Same thing."

Hikaru shrugged. His head hurt too much to argue. "He's just as bothered by it as you are."

"And apparently you are, too."

"He's my brother. It'd be wrong not to be."

Mayuki looked up towards him one more time before reaching for the strap to her bag that was on the table and stood up after throwing it around her shoulder.

"He never listens to me, so why should I listen to him? Just because we're married doesn't mean that I have to like him. He lost those 'certain' privileges a long time ago and he knows why."

Hikaru didn't say anymore. He knew talking about it wasn't going to solve anything, and talking about it only poured salt onto an already open wound. Groggily lifting his head, he watched as she turned and left the large sitting room. When she had sat up though, he didn't fail to notice a small bandage on the left side of her neck, near her pulse point. Her long hair hid it well though, and he didn't dare comment on it.

There was a slam at the front door that echoed from the entrance hall and he sighed, tilting his cup from side to side, watching the coffee dance around the rim. He was bored, but was too tired to get up and move.

Moments after thinking that the bandage on Mayuki's neck was the reason why he hadn't seen his brother all morning, he heard slow, quiet footsteps behind him.

"She's so mean to me sometimes..."

He felt the cushion beside him ease downwards. He opened his eyes and looked at his little brother who had sat beside him. A frown plastered on his face.

"She didn't say a word to you today, did she?"

Kaoru pouted, hooking his thumbs inside his pant pockets. "Kami forbid I try to apologize to her. It just always turns out wrong and I screw things up every time."

Hikaru shook his head. "Why do you do it to yourself? You know she doesn't feel the same way about you anymore. You know she isn't ever going to listen to you if you try to apologize. Her feelings go deeper than that. She doesn't hate you something stupid that you did. She hates the curse."

Kaoru's frown deepened.

"And you can't change that about you, Kaoru. It's never going away and the only way she can help it is to accept that part of you. It's her fault it's so hard on her."

"Nothings her fault," Kaoru defended, rubbing the sleepiness from under his eye. "I just wish she'd understand that... I don't like it either."

Hikaru didn't say anything. He closed his eyes and sank into the cushions. He was trying to get comfy, but his chest felt tight, and he couldn't breathe. He tightened his hold on the handle of his cup as he felt it slip and it surely wasn't missed buy his brother's wandering eyes.

Kaoru arched a concerned brow. "...Are you okay?"

Without waiting for an answer he reached over and placed his hand over his forehead.

Hikaru sighed against his cold touch and with a tired hand, he tried to shoo him away.

"Just worn out," he breathed, trying to keep his eyes open.

If only Kaoru knew that he was lying.

He was still trying to figure out why he had gotten out of bed in the first place. Everyone was supposed to be going to work that day, as it was Monday, but he decided not to, as he wasn't feeling well.

He knew Kaoru was always too concerned about him. He had his own problems and he didn't want him swarming around him, bugging him constantly. His problems just weren't something Kaoru was ready to accept yet and he knew that.

Kaoru sat back, curling his nose in a visual pout. "...I know when you're lying, so why even try? Hika, you look like crap."

"You know I'm not a morning person."

"You look like you were up all night long. How much sleep did you get last night?"

"I did sleep," Hikaru argued, turning his back to him, laying his temple against the cushion, "I just haven't had enough coffee. Leave me alone."

"You're feeling sick again."

"I like how you just assume things like that. Best brother of the year award goes to, Kaoru Hitachiin, for showing so much sympathy and concern so early in the morning."

Kaoru rolled his eyes, taking his twin's coffee away before it spilled. "...Go to bed."

"Too tired to move."

"Well I'm not babysitting you all day. I'm going to work." With that he stood up, setting the coffee down on the table. "phone me if you feel like you're dying."

"It's funny... because I could actually do that any day now."

"It's not funny."

Hikaru groaned, leaning his head back again. His eyes dropped as he gazed at the chandelier for so long. "You need to lighten up."

Kaoru's pout instantly turned to a frown and he threw his arm out towards the staircase. "Bed. Now."

"You're not my mother."

His little brother, unfortunately for him, didn't waste any time in fixing that problem.

"Mom!" Kaoru whined, taking measures into his own hands. "Hikaru won't go to bed and he's sick!"

"...You're so childish."

"He's being bad!"

"..."

Just then, a scowling Yazuha peaked her head around the corner of the entrance hall and looked between her two sons with an exasperated grumble.

"Hikaru, do what your brother says," she spoke, giving him a particular 'eye'. "Go to bed."

Hikaru turned to her. "You have got to be kidding me."

Kaoru gave him the smuggest smirk he could muster before giving his brother a hand, he held it out, glaring until he took it to help him up.

He helped him to his feet and the only reason Hikaru didn't protest any further was because he really did want to go to bed, but didn't want to look as bad as he felt.

He was holding onto his pride. He couldn't give in. Fumiko was somewhere looking up at him and he wanted her to see that he wasn't just giving into it. True, there was no stopping the virus that was attacking his body. There wasn't any way to change his fate. But he could hold on for as long as he could, and not give into the pain and just give up.

That's what she wanted.

Was to watch every single Hitachiin just give up and give in and suffer.

He'd suffer, but he'd be damned if he'd give her the pleasure of watching.

Kaoru, being as helpful as he could, was pushing at his shoulders, shoving him towards the direction of the staircase, making sure he'd go where he was supposed to.

He was doing that, however before there were a few hard knocks at the front door. The twin's turned their heads in curiosity as the family was still not used to having company, but luckily a maid was closer to it than they were and didn't have to go out of their way to open it.

"Ah! Haruhi." They heard their mother exclaim cheerily. "We weren't expecting you today."

Kaoru suddenly grasped his brother's hand, stopping him from going anywhere. Hikaru gritted his teeth the moment he heard a certain brunette's voice and cursed under his breath and tried to get away, but his dear, sweet beloved twin, who he planned to murder later, wouldn't let his arm go, but when he did, it was too late.

"...I'm sorry to come in unannounced like this, Mrs. Hitachiin. Is Hikaru here?"

Kaoru gasped and shoved him backwards, causing Hikaru to almost fall on his face. He had no physically energy to go or do anything else so he was dragged.

He Dragged until he was met with a finger in his face and a frowning lawyer, so looked as though she hadn't brushed her hair in days.

"There you are." Haruhi huffed, gripping her briefcase in one hand, pointing her finger towards his chest the moment he came into her sight. "We need to talk."

Hikaru ripped his hand away from his brother and groaned. "I don't think we do."

She walked up to him. The coldness of her glare even made Kaoru back away. The maids excused themselves, but Yazuha looked between them curiously, highly interested.

"What is this?" she asked, slipping a folded up paper out from her blazer pocket, forcing it into his face.

Hikaru arched his brow, leaning back a little. "It's a piece of paper..."

"What is it a paper of?"

"Oh, geez, I don't know. You're the one holding it."

"It's a speeding ticket." She whined, waving it a little, holding it out so he's take it. "It's your speeding ticket. The court had a copy sent to me. Why?"

"I hope you know the answer to that, and aren't just standing there dumb, because I have no freaking clue."

"I'm asking why you were given a speeding ticket!" Biting her lip, Haruhi was really trying not to get upset. She brushed her hand through the hair behind her ear and tried to recomposed herself. "It was issued Friday. It says you were going 76 in a 55."

"Oh wow," he exclaimed, taking the paper into his own hands, holding it to his face, "I was going really _really_ fast. Good thing they gave me a ticket. I sure did learn _my_ lesson."

She snatched the ticket back. "76 in a 55 is a huge difference, and illegal. I thought you knew you had to stop all this when you were ordered in court? You can't do things like this."

Hikaru rolled his eyes, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "I'm not stupid. I'm well aware that I'm not supposed to be doing anything like that. It was really dangerous. I could have _really_ hurt somebody."

"Enough with the sarcasm. You're license has been suspended without having to be present in court," she grumbled, folding the crinkled paper back into a neat square and slipped it back into her pocket, "They said if you keep it up, your license will be revoked permanently, and you'll serve at least four to eight months for civilian endangerment."

He gasped, slapping his hands over his face. "Oh no! How will I live?"

"I'm being serious!"

He threw his arm out over his shoulder and turned around. "What do I care? I have the same ticket the officer gave me. Not sure why they gave you one though."

"They sent me a copy because you failed to go to the court house the day you got it to pay it!" Haruhi clenched her jaw, trying not to get too angry, but it was becoming exceptionally harder. "Why can't you behave, or at least put in some effort in cleaning your reputation? I can't help you if you insist on practically digging your own grave in this."

He sighed, turning back around. "I'm having a hard time remembering when exactly I invited you here, _in fact_... I don't think I ever did."

"I was hoping you'd tell me why you got this ticket..."

"I don't seen how me telling you _why_ I got the ticket would make any difference. I still have the ticket, and whether I got to jail for it or not shouldn't make a very big difference to you either."

"Actually, if I don't keep you out of jail, it would mean I'm not very good at my job and no one will hire me."

"I don't care. You weren't invited here, so I don't feel bad about kicking you out either, so leave before you get busted for trespassing." He called out, as he started walking away again. Leaving the poor brunette trembling in frustration in his wake.

She almost felt like crying. She collapsed to her knees in desperation and heaved, feeling her heart thump hard, heating her blood.

"Why..." she whimpered, gripping the fabric of her skirt. "Why is he like this? Why does he... hate me?"

Kaoru gasped,. "Hika! you made her cry."

"I hate him..." she concluded, breathing smoothly. "I hate his guts. I want a new client."

Yazuha gave her shoulder a soft pat. "He's not always like this. Or... he hasn't _always_ been like this. He's nice, really."

Haruhi turned to her, pinching her lips together. "If he's capable of being nice, why is he like this now? All I ask is for him to pay for his driving mistakes. It's not hard. Everyone can do it."

Kaoru shrugged, offering her hand until she took it and helped her to her feet. "I know... Hikaru's just stubborn and doesn't like to admit he's wrong. He doesn't care if he does bad things as long as they don't effect him."

"...Did he just threaten to call the police on me?"

"He's just trying to scare you."

"For what? It isn't necessary."

"He just doesn't want you to be here, which I guess is obvious. But I like you." He assured her, patting her hand as he adjusted the caller of her blazer. "Just out of spite of his feelings, you can stay for lunch."

"I don't think I should..."

"Nonsense!" Kazuha's voice echoed from the hall she suddenly appeared from. They all turned their heads to her, curious.

"Just out of spite of his feelings you should stay the whole week. That'll really piss him off."

"No. I don't think I should stay at all. I really have to go down to the court house and-"

"You're staying for tea then." Yazuha said, more as an order than anything else. "Plain or sugar? Kimiko! set the table will you?"

Haruhi sighed, having her blazer shrugged off with the help of a passerby maid. Wondering how the hell this kept happening to her.

* * *

"I see... your father is a transvestite."

"Yes."

"...And he works at a tranny bar?"

"We just... call it a _bar_."

Kazuha sat back in her chair. Balancing her cup of tea on her hand. "Well that explains everything."

Kaoru frowned at his tea cup. "At first glance I thought he was a woman..."

Haruhi sighed, rubbing her thumb awkwardly over her own cup as she sat on the opposite side of them. "...I guess he's doing his job right then."

She turned her head away from the family members who began whispering to each other, asking each other if they knew what a transvestite actually was and what they did, and why they did it. Her eyes fell on Hikaru who was sitting sideways in one of the chairs, fiddling with his phone in his hand.

The fact that he seemed to hate her entire existence irked her. She couldn't remember what she had done that had made him so bitter with her, and while she didn't want to get too much into his personal business, she couldn't help but want to know what his problem was.

In truths, she didn't hate him. She couldn't hate anyone who she didn't know. He intrigued her. He was so dark and mysterious. His anger towards everything had to have come from somewhere, and she wanted to know where it came from.

Though, now that she was thinking about it, she realized how strange and mysterious the whole Hitachiin family was. Their house seemed to have a strange aura, one that was almost painful. She sat beside them and her blood practically burned under her skin. She ran her thumb over her forehead and she was sweating.

She always thought it was weird that they'd all were so clingy to her since the day they met, why they were all so friendly and social but rarely had company. Why Kaoru's wife hated him for no specific reason, or why Hikaru didn't have a reflection.

Or more logically, why she _thought_ Hikaru didn't have a reflection.

Hikaru glanced away from his phone and noticed her stare. He arched her brow in suspicion which knocked her out of her daze and, making her turn her head around so fast her neck popped.

Her cheeks were flustered pink with embarrassment and she tried to keep her eyes on her tea, but she made the mistake of looking at him again, and unfortunately, he was staring back at her. His expression was more curious and innocent, but it quickly changed as he glared at her, as though he strongly disproved in people 'looking' at him.

"Haruhi."

Haruhi jumped at the sound of Yazuha's voice, and she quickly turned to her, grasping her cup in both hands. "...Yes?"

"Your father... he's uh... bar employee, what does your mother do?"

Kaoru fidgeted. "Mom-"

"She was a lawyer." Haruhi answered simply, a tiny smile curving her lips. One that Hikaru caught himself actually noticing. "She passed away when I was five from a terminal illness when I was five though, so I'm not sure if she would have ended up doing something else or not."

The room fell silent. Everyone besides Hikaru muttered quiet apologies, but Haruhi waved them off, not knowing how else to accept them. Kaoru shifted in the chair he sat in, and offered her more tea, but she refused.

The less tea she had, the sooner she could leave.

What confused her though, was that Kaoru apparently realized that, and without asking her again, he grabbed her cup and poured more tea for her anyway. She was growing a small irking feeling that maybe the Hitachiin didn't want her to leave.

But of course that was a silly thought, and she quickly brushed it off.

"Anyway..." The twin's mother muttered, trying to clear the awkwardness. "Haruhi, about that photo shoot I talked to you about. Are you interested?"

Haruhi frowned. "I... I'm not sure. I'm not cut out for modeling. I've never-"

"But you look adorable! And you wear a suit nicely. It's all professional too. I think you'd be a natural."

Haruhi nearly laughed at that title. And it was true, because somewhere, in a certain place, she was known as 'the natural type.

"I don't think so. I don't really look 'magazine worthy' in pictures."

Yazuha shrugged. "My boys are great though. They model all my lines. You could do a couple of 'couple photo's' with Hikaru. He could show you how."

Hikaru didn't even look his mother's way, as he continued to scroll through his phone.

"I'd rather die."

Kaoru laughed. "Come on, Hika, lighten up. It would be fun."

Hikaru turned to him, dropping his phone in his lap. "The day your wife agrees to model with you, is the day I model with _her_. Agreed?"

Kaoru scowled. "That's the _'no, no zone'_."

"You touched my zone first."

"You don't have a zone."

"Boys! What are you _five_? and Hika, sit right. I swear this is why we can never have nice things."

With that, the twins adjusted themselves, Kaoru muttered a quiet apology, but Hikaru said nothing. He sat the right way in his chair, but he grabbed his phone again and instead of staying he stood up, adjusting the collar of his jacket.

Kaoru frowned, watching his big brother leave the room. "Where are you going?"

"Where do you think I'm going?"

"...to bed?"

"I'm gong out." Hikaru turned slightly and sent Haruhi a smug expression, as he noticed her look of concern, which only made it more entertaining for him. "Don't follow me."

Haruhi stood up, gripping her cup. "But you can't go out. Your license is suspended. You can't go anywhere."

"What're you going to do? _Stop me_?"

"It's illegal. You can't drive on open road. If the police catch you, they'll-"

"I guess I better not get caught, then, huh?"

"It's still illegal!" She huffed, setting her cup down on the table. She looked at Kaoru who seemed to be just sitting there doing nothing and glared. "You aren't going to stop him? If he gets another ticket and they seen that his license isn't legal they'll immediately put him in custody."

"You heard the lady, Hika!" he called out to his twin, cupping his hand over his mouth. "Don't get caught!"

"What? No! You cant-"

"Haru, I can call you that, right?" Kaoru placed his hand on her shoulder, easing her with his calm tone. "Have you ever seen those spoiled rotten children on those TV shows who always get what they want and are always told they're cute?"

Haruhi puckered her lips, looking over her shoulder, watching Hikaru grab his keys. "...Yeah?"

"Well that's, Hikaru."

"So you just let him do whatever he wants?"

"...Yeah."

Haruhi grumbled. She shooed his hand away from her and avoided all the furniture to get to the older twin. She would have gotten further had it not been for a maid that was standing there with a platter of more tea for them and an empty cup for someone else, they brushed shoulders, and the maid managed to keep the tea pot from falling, but the tea cup shattered instantly once it fell to the floor.

Both woman gasped in shock and they fell to their knees to pick up the pieces. From the distance, Hikaru was rolling his eyes as he slipped his wallet into his pocket. The maid was apologizing continuously until Haruhi started apologizing.

Kaoru took the platter away and sat it on the table but before he could help Haruhi up off the floor, she pulled her hand away fast with a whimper, and a small dark spot was left on the rug from where her hand had struck a small piece of broken glass.

"Haruhi are you okay? You're bleeding."

Haruhi looked down at her hand and inhaled, grasping it tightly with her other one. Dark blood was already running down her wrist as she pressed her thumb to the cut.

He knelt beside her, taking her injured hand, thinking it was only a small cut, until he saw how much blood was actually on her palm. He called out to the maid and ordered bandages, and pressed his thumb onto her cut.

To her it didn't hurt, is was only a tiny sting, but her body flared up as she felt more blood on her skin than she should have. Though her blood that dripped onto the carpet, wasn't red.

"Haruhi..." Kaoru managed, as he held her hand. "Your blood, it's..."

Haruhi stared down at her dark blood that soaked her palm, and her heart thumped hard against her chest like an jackhammer. Her forehead burned and a foggy image clouded her eyes. Her voices were hushed around her, as though she had dunked her head under water. Kaoru thumb against her hand was like she had placed her hand on an electric fence so she pulled away.

Though that shocking sensation only came back when another hand grabbed her wrist, though now it wasn't so intense. They pulled her to her feet, holding pressure against her hand. She wasn't sure who had grabbed her until she was being led to the closest bathroom.

Once her hand was shoved under running water from a facet, and her blood was being washed away down the drain, she battered her eyelashes and turned, only to see Hikaru gripping her hand tightly, holding her under the water to clean her.

She could barely get a word out. "...Hika-"

"You just like to cause trouble don't you?" His voice was firm, making her shudder against his soft touch.

"...I didn't-"

"You practically slammed her hand down on the glass, stupid."

"Where did you-"

Hikaru held her hand tighter, gripping her wrist so tight it ached, but his fingers were soft and gentle against her palm, that, when the water cleaned it all up, only had a tiny speck where the glass cut her. Though just the slightest touch from him electrified her skin, almost burning it, she wanted to pull away but his grip on her was too tight.

The blood from her hand wouldn't stop, even from the tiny cut, and Hikaru knew this, so he couldn't pull her hand away from the water, and the already blood stained sink bowl.

"You're a bleeder."

Haruhi turned to him, then to her hand as he flipped the cabinet open to retrieve a small medical kit, where he grabbed a small bottle of ointment, and skillfully opened it with one hand.

She flinched as he applied it to her hand. "Why are you... helping me?"

He didn't answer right away. "... I don't like blood."

"Then why are you-"

He squeezed her hand so tight her words were caught dead in her throat. She almost cried out from the shock his hand was giving her blood but managed not to. He laid a small Band-Aid first over her cut before wrapping her palm in 'wrap around white bandage'.

While he was doing so, she looked up at the mirror to look at her flustered cheeks, but wish she hadn't have looked because, despite having Hikaru stand right beside her, his reflection wasn't anywhere to be seen in the large mirror above the sink.

Even if there was plenty of room for him to be standing there in the glass, his reflection was nowhere to be seen, only she stood there. She looked down and watched his hands turn the bandage around on her hand but as she looked towards the mirror, his hands weren't there and only the fabric of the bandage was seen, moving by itself.

She gasped and pulled herself away from him the moment his grasp loosened. She nearly threw herself against the wall, holding her hand close to her chest.

He looked back at her as though she was crazy. "What're you doing? Hold still."

"What the hell is that!" Haruhi exclaimed, looking between him and the mirror. "Why is it like that? Why does it keep happening?"

He looked to where she was pointing, and stared at the mirror, then back at her and glared. "What're you talking about? Get over here so I can-"

"No! Your refection! Where is it? Are you some sort of... super human? Why can't I see it?"

"I don't know what the hell you're talking about."

"You know exactly what I'm talking about. Look in the mirror!"

Hikaru looked back at then mirror, then back at her once again. "Are you insane?"

"No! I..." She pursed her lips, glowering at the mirror. "Can't... can't you see it?"

"There's nothing there."

"You're not-! You're... your reflection, it's..."

"You lost too much blood. You're hallucinating."

"No I'm not you're not in-"

"Is everything okay in here?" Kaoru suddenly appeared around the corner, sticking his head through the crack in the door. "Hika... What're you doing to the poor girl? Haruhi are you okay?"

Haruhi was still looking at the mirror when he appeared, and the mirror was in the perfect position where she was supposed to see him in it, but she couldn't. The door was holding opening by itself. When she turned around he was there, but he wasn't there in the mirror. The door was opening slowly by itself and the roll of bandages were rolling themselves up and was moved into the medical case with no help.

She finished wrapping her hand herself before backing up to leave. Her back bumped into Kaoru's chest, but in the mirror she hadn't walked into anything. Her reflection was the only one there. It was as though Hikaru and Kaoru didn't exist.

Kaoru placed her hands on her shoulders. "...Haruhi?"

She pushed away from him, and with one more glance towards the mirror she left the bathroom so fast she wasn't sure where she was going, and without any more words to any one else in that family, she slipped away from any of their eyes and left the mansion.

During so, Kaoru tried to follow her, making sure she was okay, but Hikaru stayed right where he was, running his finger down the dark substance left on the sink from her cut.

With her black blood staining the skin of his finger, Hikaru slammed the cabinet door shut and stared into the mirror, where he couldn't even see himself. Because he really did have no reflection.

He sighed and leaned his forehead up against it. "...Shit."


	10. Chapter 10

**Scars Don't Heal**

* * *

Another death had occurred.

The sun was setting over the roof of the Nekozawa's mansion. The current head of the family was away on a business trip, leaving the next oldest man in the house, in charge.

That said man stared out the window, as he slumped in his large, cushioned chair. Watching rain drops race down the glass. It had been a slow, evening, full of mourning and fought back tears.

His oldest cousin had passed away earlier that day, leaving everyone with a heavy heart and an easily aggravated temper. She was very young, only thirty-one, but after she had turned that age a few months earlier, everyone knew she didn't have much longer to live.

The curse of the black heart had struck again.

That left only a few more females left in the Nekozawa family. Them being ones who weren't of Nekozawa blood, his dear little sister, and his now deceased older cousin's younger sibling.

Think of all those children, who had grown up without their mothers for years. Death came to them quickly, killing them over the course of just a few months.

And it was all their fault. The Hitachiin's were to blame.

They were selfish, and were the ones who truly had black hearts. it was unfair to his own family, because unlike them, at least the Hitachiin's get a chance. It was their option to screw it up, but at least it was a chance.

There was no chance for them.

"Master Umehito..." A maid peaked into the room. "Dinner is served."

Umehito leaned over, his hood shadowing his expression. "...I'm skipping."

She hesitated with a look of concern on her face. "Are you sure...? You skipped meals all day today."

"And I'm skipping again."

"Shall I bring you some food in here instead?"

"No."

The maid frowned, clasping her hands tightly against her leg. "...Miss Kirimi is wondering if you'd join her. She's... back from her school activities."

Umehito pinched his lips together and turned back to the window. "I suppose might then..."

The maid stood in the doorway for a few moments, sucking in her bottom lip in awkwardness. She had been working at the Nekowaza estate for three years, but cloaked heir of the family, just being in the same room with him, gave her chills. She normally had one of the older, more mysterious maids to talk to him, but they all seemed to be busy.

She turned to leave, once she noticed that he wasn't going to get up. Her hand brushed against the doorknob but she froze once her eyes fell on a book that was on the dresser.

It was _'Yūmeijin Jikans'_ magazine. With large bulky letters and the random current celebrities on the cover who she couldn't place the names of. But there was one selective square in the corner with a celebrity who she knew for a fact.

The headline read: _**Does** **Bad-Boy Bachelor, Hikaru Hitachiin, have a secret he's not ready to tell?** _

Her blood was instantly turned to boil as she picked it up with a scowl plastered on her pal lips. She knew the Hitachiin's were the sole reason for all the sorrow in the family. She ripped the magazine off the table and flipped it open to the said page the article was on and glared at every individual, printed word.

 _"Hikaru Hitachiin, is said to be the heartbreaker of the family. With his good looks and uncanny ability to attract attention wherever he goes, and he has in fact broken his fair share of hearts. He was formally known for being the most wanted bachelor in the fashion industry, and the shadow of his married twin brother, (Kaoru Hitachiin), but his life might be taking a turn with this supposedly new 'girlfriend' of his, currently known as 'Secret brown maiden' who was last seen with Mr. Hitachiin in a cafe having coffee._

 _Will this 'maiden' be the next victim to Mr. Hitachiin's shallow charms, or is there something behind the two of them (A relationship perhaps?) that he's not ready to make public yet? No ones made any attempt to question Mr. Hitachiin on this subject, typically because of his aggressive behavior towards the press._

 _Does that connect with this supposedly new relationship of his? Or is he just an 'aggressive lover? If so, how many untold secrets is he hiding?"_

The maid's face scrunched up in disgust. "...Have you read this, Mr... Umehito?"

"Quite a despicable excuse for a man," he answered, his voice like a rumble of thunder, "though unfortunately most of those are _lies_ spread over time."

"So... Mr. Hitachiin has a new girlfriend?"

"The first in over three years."

"A girlfriend... doesn't that mean he'll-"

Umehito turned away, glancing at a tall, dark flickering candle. His eyes slanted thinly as he hovered his finger over the tiny flame, letting the small fire burn his fingertip. All the anger that was built up inside him, was trapped in deep, slow breaths from his nose, as he refused to let it get the best of him.

"Though he doesn't deserve any satisfaction," he continued, pulling his finger away as it got too hot, "The Hitachiin's should learn from their mistakes but they don't. They'll continue to hurt and destroy other people just so they can have what they want. It is how it is, isn't it?"

The maid placed down the magazine and folded her hands tightly once more. "They're blood thirsty."

"Quite literally."

"Pardon me, Mr. Umehito, but... are you going to-... Are you interested in relationships?"

Umehito didn't answer very quickly, as he stared out at the rain falling again. The maid hadn't realized that she had touched a sensitive subject and prepared to leave, but he finally replied before she could exit the room.

"...It's a wet summer, isn't it?"

She nodded. "Yes, sir."

"...Kirimi will like the Sunflowers once they bloom. We'll have to walk outside together sometime before fall."

"...But sir, you don't like to go outside."

"That's true."

She stared at her boss for a moment before nodding in understanding. "Should I... tell miss Kirimi you won't be joining for dinner?"

"No," Umehito tipped his head backwards. With his golden hair appearing under his dark hood. "I'll be down."

The maid nodded again before closing the door, leaving him to stare out the damp, foggy window, with his bright crystal eyes.

Under those eyes though, they weren't so crystal. They were full of deep, hidden anger, and pain.

 _The Hitachiin's must die._

 _Every single one of them._

* * *

If only time could stand still. Just for a little while...

Those were his thoughts, as Kaoru listened to the water from the shower head, rain down on the marble shower flooring. He breathed in the steamy air, feeling the hot water gush down his bare skin.

He shoved his hands into his wet, soapy hair, tilting back to let the water wash it away. The steam fogged up the windows of the shower, and his hand made it's mark through the condensation when he touched it.

His tongue skimmed over his smooth, flat teeth, with his eyes shut tight as the water ran down his face that was pink from the heat.

Time really would be more enjoyable, if it could stop.

If it were only just for a week, or a day, or an hour.

During all those times where he wished it could stop, so he wouldn't have to hurt the one he was supposed to love more than anything else in the world, or so that he could spend that much more time with his brother, who wasn't going to be with him forever like they thought.

He wished it could freeze, so he could have more time.

His hair was clean, his body was clean, but he just let the water run till it turned cold. It wasn't as though he needed alone time, he got a lot of that, he just didn't see a reason to get out.

Mayuki wasn't home, so he couldn't attempt to talk to her, as he had been doing for the past two years , he couldn't spend his time hacking into his brother's computer to try and find him a girlfriend has he had been doing since his brother became single and since Hikaru had made it a point to change all his passwords.

He was alone more often than he'd admit, and was deeply upset that things weren't like they used to be, as a few years ago everything was perfect. Now it all seemed like a dream, and all these problems have just been there forever. And in truths, they had been. He just liked it when they didn't seem so real.

His chest was pink and numb from the water roughly pouring, and as he finally reached over for the handle to turn it off, letting it cool his skin before the water ran out completely, his foggy eyes watched the water dripped near the drain, as he thought of how exactly the family got in this situation.

Maybe it was their fault for being selfish and heartless, maybe it was the Nekozawa's fault for being jealous and immature. Maybe it was both their faults. Neither family would know for certain, as the incident happened a very long time ago and all they knew now, was from things that were passed down the generation. Maybe the Nekozawa's knew of something they didn't.

Maybe it was vise-versa.

And even after all this time, and for so long, knowing what the exact cure was to fix all their problems, they couldn't do it. It was either impossible, and once, it wasn't, or both parties would just refuse.

Their great-grandmother and Umehito's great-grandfather once were near in age. But they had been raised to hate the other, to despise the other's entire existence, so naturally, they couldn't, and down right refused to marry each other and continued to make the other's life a living hell until they died, just out of spite.

And naturally, both families blamed all the death which occurred, on the other family. Which had been happening for years.

To Kaoru, past the pain in it all, it was almost funny how simple-minded and immature both families really were.

Though of course, like the rest of them, he couldn't help but blame all his own problems on them. To him, it was Fumiko's insanity which causes him to have so much problems in his marriage, but he couldn't necessarily blame the rest of the Nekozawa's.

Hikaru however, hated every single one of them. And there was nothing anyone could do to change his mind. No matter what it was. His skull was just too thick, and his heart had just been broken beyond the point where it could be stitched up with petty words or an apology.

Maybe it was better if the Hitachiin's just ended now. He and his brother were the only ones left to keep the family name going, but maybe it would be better if it didn't. Even now, it was impossible for them to keep anything going.

His own wife couldn't stand to sit in the same room with him, and his brother had just twenty-four months or nine more months left to live. Depending on how nice god wanted to be.

Shrugging away all depressing thoughts from his mind, Kaoru strapped a towel to his bottom half and leaned against the sink counter, staring down at the marble sink bowl, looking up at the foggy mirror. He swiped his fist against the glass, wiping away the steam induced condensation, only to see nothing looking back at him.

Because he had no reflection.

A side-affect to the curse. Supposedly, so they could always be reminded that they were cold hearted monsters inside and out. Always be reminded of what they did to hurt so many people.

Kaoru dropped his hand and grabbed a can of shaving cream. He thought about it for a moment before putting it back down.

He remembered the look on Haruhi's face. The look of horror, and fear. He hadn't seen anyone look at him like that since he bit Mayuki when she wasn't expecting it.

Seeing that look in someone's eyes _hurt_. Knowing that they were scared of him _hurt_. Knowing that his wife didn't even want to look at him because she was scared of him hurt even more.

He had never liked blood, and still, even from when Haruhi had cut her hand on the broken tea-cup, he saw her dark blood running down her wrist. Even from the tiny cut, so much blood came out.

Thick, dark blood that just kept spilling. He didn't know if her cut had healed since than, but he knew that it had stopped bleeding when Hikaru, for some reason, came out to help her. He helped clean up her wound, and it had stopped.

If it wasn't already strange, the fact that her blood was so dark took the cake.

Kaoru stared at the mirror, and where his reflection was supposed to be. He glared at the glass, just looking at the reflection of the wall behind him.

Then, a sudden thought occurred to him.

If Haruhi's mother passed away from a terminal illness... and Haruhi had this "problem"... What did that mean for Haruhi?

Apparently to Kaoru, that thought was worth telling, as he dropped everything he held in his hand, down in the sink and left the bathroom in such a hurry that he forgot his clothes.

The poor maid who was in the hallway, putting away the blankets, was not expecting him to ran down the hall in just a towel.

* * *

" _Bad-boy bachelor_ ," Hikaru groaned, clutching the magazine in his hand, "That's so corny."

"Hikaru!"

The older twin gasped, and the coffee cup he held in his other hand nearly fell to the floor from the shock of the door slamming into the wall.

Heaving in annoyance, Hikaru turned his chair away from the slam and tossed the magazine which had his face printed on, down on the desk.

"Hika," Kaoru inhaled sharply, not even bothering to make sure his towel wasn't falling down, "we have to talk."

Hikaru turned around. His brow was arched, even if he was trying not to show his anger he was currently suppressing. "Yes, because I wouldn't imagine anything else we would do. Especially when your little brother bursts into your room _naked_."

Kaoru looked down, then up again, as though it didn't bother him. "I was in a rush."

"Too big of a rush to put on a pair of pants?"

"Yes."

Hikaru sighed, rolling his eyes before spinning his chair back around to glare at the magazine. "Whatever. _Also_ , I think I locked that door, so do me a favor and get out."

Kaoru pouted and adjusted the hem of his towel against his hips. _"...Rude_."

"I'm mad at you right now."

"When are you ever _not_ mad at me?"

"When you don't do anything wrong."

"There have been plenty of times where we've both walked into the same room without towels so I think you can get over this."

Hikaru resisted the urge to slap his hand over his face. "Not the towel. You got my face in the paper."

Kaoru glanced over at the magazine he held and tilted his head in confusion. "...Oh wow!" He exclaimed sarcastically. "You're on the cover... for the first time since last month."

He growled and shoved the book into his brother's hands, ignoring his bareness. "And I'm not alone on the cover."

"Well yeah cause there's like five other celebrities..."

"In the article!"

Giving his twin the lazy eye, Kaoru leaned back on his heels and flipped the magazine open to page 32 of which his brother's small article was on. He blew through his lips and dropped himself down on the edge of his brother's bed.

His eyes glanced over the words " _Bad Boy bachelor"_ and couldn't contain a short giggle of which his brother glared at him for making. His eyes were then glued to the small, terrible quality photo the magazine had, of his brother and a particular brunette in a dark purple skirt suit.

He looked up. "I don't see how it's my fault you got into the magazine..."

"Keep reading."

"...Cute picture by the way. They got your good side," Kaoru looked up to his brother's reaction look, but there was none, as he was sipping his coffee. He looked down and continued reading, only stopping when his eyes skimmed over "Secret brown maiden".

"The hell? You're dating someone and I didn't know?"

Hikaru's brow twitched. "You know exactly who they're talking about."

Crossing his ankles, getting more comfortable as he held the magazine up closer to his face, Kaoru peaked over the pages to glance at his brother almost as if he were poking at an angry dog with a stick.

"I do say... it's beginning to look a lot like..."

"..."

"Christmas."

"Dammit, focus!"

"Okay, it looks like Haruhi, but what's the big deal?" Kaoru huffed and threw the book down on the pillow, folding his arms over his bare stomach. "The press thinks you have a secret girl on the side who just so happens to be that cute little lawyer girl."

Hikaru threw his hands up. "But I don't! We're not a couple and I don't want people to think we are. This is all your fault for making it seem like me and her are... a thing!"

"Actually you can thank the reporter for that. I mean it's a horrible article but it does catch people's attention."

He breathed in through his lips, running his finger against his brow. Trying very hard not to leap out of his chair to punch his twin in the arm for being annoying. "My whole family is running against me. This is your fault."

Kaoru frowned, tightening his towel. "I don't see how..."

"You and mother made us go get coffee with each other! And don't act innocent! You're constantly pestering me about her. Hikaru do this, Hikaru do that. Hikaru are you making babies? No!"

"...Well geez if you two did make babies you'd wake them all up, cause you're being loud. I mean really Hika, remember your blood pressure."

Hikaru stood up, thrusting his hands into his hair. "For Kami's sake, if I don't wake up tomorrow it'd be a miracle."

Cleaning his teeth, Kaoru stood up and walked over to the dresser, rummaging through his brother's things. "Is it too soon to tell you I told you so?"

" _That?_ "

"That you and her would get together?"

"This is entirely your fault you know that don't you? If yours and mothers fault I have all these problems now."

"You call them problems. I see them as opportunities."

Hikaru turned his back to him. "I can't take you seriously."

Kaoru shrugged. "Well I _am_ naked."

"Also..." He continued, biting his lips as he searched through his older brother's drawers, unfolding what was tucked away nicely. "There was a reason I came in here. I was thinking about what happened earlier and... about _Haruhi_ , with her being who she is and what we are, and what she saw and..."

Hikaru growled. "It's her fault. She shouldn't have been here in the first place."

"It isn't about that. I'm not trying to blame anyone on it. It's just that..." Kaoru paused, biting the inside of his cheek. "You didn't notice that her blood was _black_?"

"I was washing her blood off my own hand, so yes I did. She's a total bleeder."

Finding what he was after, Kaoru dropped his towel very skillfully and managed to slip on a pair of his brother's pants before he noticed and turned around, using the towel to finally put in the effort into dry his hair, before going to fix it with his fingers the best he could without knowing what he looked like.

"I just remember her saying that her mother had a terrible, terminal disease that killed her, and that... _she_ has something so strange-"

Hikaru shrugged, ripping the magazine in half, before tossing into the trash bin near the wall. "She's dead, what're you worried about her for?"

Kaoru grabbed one of his brother's shirt and slipped it over his head. "Actually... I was thinking about it and...I want to go to the Nekozawa's-"

"Like hell you're going to the Nekozawa's!"

Kaoru flinched, frowning as Hikaru turned his head to him. He was confused to see his little brother in his clothes, but ignored it, as his words offended him more.

"It's just that I think they-"

"You're out of your mind. The Nekozawa's are dirty. Their whole intensions are dirty and they hate us. We hate them. You're not going anywhere near them."

"You're not my mother..."

"If you told mother she'll tell you the same thing! We went to college with Umehito. He's freaky as hell."

"Hika, you don't understand," Kaoru almost whined, "it's not like I want to make friends with them. They've always been into black magic and I thought that if maybe we ask them, they might know something about Haruhi. Even doctors couldn't find out what sickness her mother had. What if that sickness is genetic?"

"Then that damn lawyer will get it too and I won't have to worry about her anymore." Hikaru concluded. It was as if his brother had flipped a switch on his bronze eyes, as they suddenly became engulfed in their own tiny flames of anger and betrayal.

"Their obsession with black magic is how we got into this mess in the first place, Kaoru. You think that if you went, they'd welcome you with open arms and humor you?"

"I wouldn't be doing it for me. I'm just curious. If Haruhi had some sort of genetic sickness that can't be cured then..."

"I don't care Kaoru. The Nekozawa's are-"

"She's going to die..."

Hikaru sighed, leaning against the dresser, his fingers clutching the wood so hard his knuckles turned white. "You're talking to the wrong person about this. Anything that happens a year from now, or even six months from now might not concern me, death happens to everyone. If it's meant to happen then there's nothing you can do about it. You don't even know if it's genetic or not. You're worrying too much about something that isn't your business."

"But if we could help her-"

"No, Kaoru." His voice grew firmer, as his brow slanted completely into diagonal lines. "Three years ago they sat our entire courtyard on fire, _Remember_?"

Kaoru hesitated. "Well... you did set his puppet on fire..."

"Because he was saying all these freaky words like he was trying to put a curse on me. I felt threatened."

"You're already cursed! How could he have made it any worse?"

"It's doesn't matter. They pick fights and you're not going over there. They hate us just as much as we hate them."

Hikaru turned away from him again flipping his bangs to the side where they weren't in his face. "Fujioka's life isn't any of our business either. We all have problems, but I think you need to focus on your own rather than everyone else's."

Kaoru clicked his tongue rubbing his hands against his face, smoothing his nerves. "I'm not picking sides of who's right or wrong or who started it, It's just been bugging me."

"Well you're not going to find what you're looking for there."

"Can you be reasonable for two seconds?"

Hikaru threw himself back down in his chair. " _Fine_."

"I know this war's been going on for as long as anyone can remember, quite frankly, and I just want-"

"Oh I see, you're using Fujioka as an excuse so you can turn and stab us all in the back, while you go to the Nekozawa's to try and sort out our family's issues. Dammit Kaoru. You've lost your mind."

"I thought you were going to be reasonable?"

"You said for two seconds."

"Never mind. You're impossible," with that, Kaoru turned around to leave the room, with his hands in his hair. "I'm not making an excuse for anything. We have problems which need to be resolved."

Hikaru glared at him as he left. His arms folded tightly. "Those _problems_ need to be left alone."

"Whatever."

"And you're wearing my clothes."

"Yes I am."

"Well put them back."

"Don't forget to take your meds, Hika!"

His bedroom door slammed shut and Hikaru just decided to leave it be. His brother was being ridiculous, as he's always been and he was most likely going to change his mind after he'd remember what the curse has done to him to make him so miserable. He should already know that him politely going to their rivals, weren't going to change what's already happened. It wasn't going to change their feelings about each other. It wasn't going to bring back lives, and it certainly wasn't going to break the curse.

He huffed, clenching his jaw as he popped open a bottle of pain relievers for his headache.

* * *

"Dammit, where did I put it? I swear I had it in my bag..."

With her face scrunched up in a scowl, Haruhi rummaged her briefcase, and all the things in it before tossing the whole thing on the futon they used as a couch.

Getting down on her knees, she crawled over to the table, and ducked her head under it to look, then sat up and crawled over to the tv stand, where she searched the small shelves, tossing things around.

Ryoji peaked his head around the corner, almost scared of his daughter as she had torn the whole living room apart, including her bedroom and the kitchen.

"Haru..." he mumbled innocently in the background as she threw a shirt clear across the room. "What're you looking for?"

"My lanyard," she replied, sitting up, with her hair a mess and her shirt wrinkled from rolling around on the floor, "I can't get into my office without my card. It's inside of it."

He nodded, rubbing his hand over his stubble, "oh you mean that ugly brown thing you carry your name card in?"

Haruhi frowned. "Ugly or not, I need it."

"Well where did you leave it?"

"If I knew I'd have it now..."

He shrugged. "Well you can forget it this time can't you? Get up off the floor and eat breakfast before you leave."

"But I need it."

"And daddy says to eat breakfast."

"I don't have _time_."

"You not having time doesn't affect the plate of breakfast for you, which is on the table."

"My breakfast can wait until I get back from work."

"By the time you get back it'll be dinner."

"I'll have breakfast for dinner."

Ryoji opened his mouth to reply to her with another snooty comment, but there was a light tapping at the door and his words died in his throat. He held up a finger to his daughter for her to wait, as though he was silently telling her that they were going to finish their argument.

Haruhi rolled her eyes and picked up a blanket that she had on the floor, checked under it, then threw it on the futon when she noticed that her lanyard wasn't there.

He left her to it, as he headed for he door. There was no further knocking, but he opened it anyway. And wearing just his sweatpants and a home-made t-shirt he had gotten for father's day, he shamefully showed off his current attire to whoever he had just opened the door for.

"Yes? Can I help you?"

"No."

Ryoji blinked, gazing into the eyes of none other than Hikaru Hitachiin, who was standing at the door, with his hands in his coat, despite the warm weather.

"Oh! Mr. Hitachiin," he grinned, thrusting his arm out to shake his, "what a pleasant surprise."

"Not really," Hikaru replied in a dry tone, his brow furrowed impolitely, "I'm dropping something off."

The middle aged man leaned back as Hikaru shoved a certain brown lanyard into his sight. He looked down at it before taking it from him. And his daughter's name was printed on the paper that was inside it.

"Haruhi!" he called out, enjoyment was practically spilling off his tongue, "your boyfriend found your thing!"

Hikaru grunted, glaring at his feet as his cheeks burned with humiliation.

Before he could leave, Haruhi poked her head around the doorframe and plucked her lanyard from her father's grasp. Her eyes widened when she saw him and gasped, slowly sinking away until Ryoji grabbed her wrist.

"Don't be rude Haru, Hikaru went out of his way to bring this to you," he scolded harmlessly, smirking as he grabbed her shoulders and shoved her in front of the doorway, "I'll leave you two alone, I have to put on my makeup."

Haruhi stared at the floor as she listened to his footsteps as he walked away. She left the presence of her client and felt like huddling away and hiding behind the door.

Hikaru just scowled, showing no other emotion. "Just so we're clear, I'm _not_ your boyfriend."

"I know..." she cleared her throat, twisting the straps of her lanyard with her fingers, "My dad just saw a magazine and-"

" _Everyone's_ seen the magazine."

"He uh... he has a monthly subscription for those."

"I wouldn't doubt it."

Hikaru adjusted the collar turned around, trying not to stay too long. He made an attempt to walk away but her voice stopped him.

"Um... thank you, for... bringing this," Haruhi mumbled, pulling her lanyard over her head. "I wouldn't be able to go to work without it..."

"Don't get the wrong idea," he cursed under his breath but she didn't catch it, "a maid found it under the couch and Kaoru pestered me all morning so I'd bring it with me when I left the house."

"Oh..." in awkwardness, she began slowly shutting the door, "couldn't he have brought it himself if it bothered him so much?"

Hikaru hesitated, and she didn't fail to notice his expression turn from annoyed, to something an little softer. "He was busy and wasn't going to work."

Haruhi felt two sizes smaller standing in front of him. " _Oh_..."

He shook his head and started walking away. She watched him for a moment, before sticking her head out and calling out to him to stop, and to her confusion, he actually did.

"Actually... Hik-... _Mr. Hitachiin_ ," she stuttered, "about... the other day, with the tea-cup and-... in the bathroom."

"Forget it. It was just a tea-cup."

"No... I wasn't talking about that I was-... it was about..."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes you do! It was you and Kaoru, I saw it, and you know what it was."

He thought about replying, but decided not to and continued walking to the stairs of the apartment. "You commoners sure do act crazy sometimes."

"I'm not crazy _I saw it_ ," Haruhi argued, stepping out of the house, following him until she stopped herself, "It wasn't me and it wasn't that the mirror was broken. You didn't have a... and Kaoru didn't have it either."

"I really don't know what you're talking about."

"A reflection!"

"Oh well damn," he turned around, with a fake disappointed look on his face, "you _know_ now. I guess that means I'm gonna have to kill you."

"I'm serious. Can't we talk about this? Stop walking away!"

"Nope."

"Well now I know that you're hiding something."

"I'm walking away now."

She stepped up to the railing, watching him walk to his car. "I mean it. I already know, so stop being stubborn!"

" _Blah, blah, blah._ I can't hear _you_."

"Get back here!"

"I bid you farewell _secret brown maiden_ ," he shouted out her to, holding his hand to his chest in a fake gentleman manner. "And I hope we break up soon because you're annoying as hell."

"Mr. Hitachiin!"

He slammed his car door shut, and with her finally taking the message, she groaned out loud in annoyance and stomped back inside her apartment to get ready for work.

All while her neighbors wondered what the hell they were screaming at each other about at 7am in the morning.


	11. Chapter 11

**Coincidence**

* * *

In the couple of weeks that lead up to another month, neither the Hitachiin's or Fujioka's socialized. Haruhi hadn't seen the twins or their family in that time and Hikaru purposely kept his distance.

To him, it was a peaceful three weeks. His brother had his own problems had hadn't bothered him, but he was sure Kaoru was just gaining material to make the rest of his short life very un tolerable.

For Haruhi, it was stressful. Downing in paperwork, constantly answering calls so their court hearing went smoothly. She had stayed up the majority of the nights, well passed midnight, trying to do her homework and her job at the same time, only having the time to go to class at night.

The rich always have it too easy. Always having things done for them, and having things practically fall into their laps.

Which was why, the moment Haruhi set eyes on Hikaru at the end of the month, which was also the day they were to go to court to settle his problems, she had grown a sense of annoyance for him. A feeling that wouldn't go away.

The car they drove in screeched as it turned corner, causing another jumble of complaints to come out of the ginger's mouth.

"You'd think that being a lawyer... you wouldn't be driving just a bucket of bolts."

Haruhi's hands tightened against the steering wheel. "And being a rich fashion designer, one wouldn't think that you'd have to be driven everywhere because of a suspended license."

Hikaru tisked. "I was fully capable of driving myself anywhere. You just showed up and my brother is a pain, so here we are."

"Oh jeez, I wonder why."

She turned to him, at a stop light, and even with her brow twitching, and her lips ready to explode with whatever was on her mind at that exact moment, she managed to keep her feelings inside.

"After today we won't have to look at each other ever again," she figured, waiting for the light to turn another color. "Could we at least try not to leave on a bad note?"

"I like bad notes."

"I don't."

"And I don't really like you."

"Well I'm not sure I really like you either, but-"

Hikaru looked at her, not expecting her to be looking back. "...Then I think bad notes are healthy for those who don't like each other."

She sighed in defeat and looked away. "Your logic is one of the things that make me have mixed feelings about you."

"And here's to hoping those mixed feelings are a mixture of bad things."

Haruhi bit her lip, trying to ignore him. "Alright fine, if you're going to be unpleasant to sit next to, I'm not even going to talk to you."

Hikaru slowly turned back to her, a look of something like disbelief plastered on his face. "And... you think that's threating? I've been trying all morning to get you to shut up."

With that, Haruhi breathed deeply, turning the wheel to pull into the parking lot. Nothing was said between the two of them until the car came to a complete stop. She looked up, listening to him unbuckle his seat belt, watching the rearview mirror. One that didn't show his reflection.

"Wait," she muttered to him to stop, just as he was stepping out of the car. "Could you just-... Could _I_ just ask you a question?"

Slipping on his sunglasses, his head slowly rolled to look at her. " _Depends_."

"...Why don't you have a reflection?"

He smirked. "That's really bothering you, _isn't it_?"

"Yes," she grumbled, "what's bothering me the most is that you're keeping it a secret."

"Well I don't know what you're looking at," he said, with a curtain glint in his eye as he tilted the mirror down towards him. "But I look hot."

He slammed the door close, leaving her there alone with his last words hanging in the air.

Haruhi continued to glare out the windshield, watching him walk away outside. "...So you can see your _own_ reflection?!"

* * *

Hikaru slammed his back against the wooden bench, raising only one hand. "I plead guilty."

Haruhi gasped and slapped his shoulder. Whispering in his ear. "That's not even what he asked you. Stop pleading guilty!"

The judge sighed, laying his elbows on the large desk, half tempting to call the whole ordeal off. "Mr. Hitachiin... I'd appreciate it if you'd take this seriously. Were you under the influence during any of the witnessed incidents?"

"It depends what you mean by under the influence..."

"Intoxicated, Mr. Hitachiin."

"I might have been. If I were intoxicated I wouldn't be able to remember." He crossed his arms, shaking his head. "I can't seem to hold my liquor very well."

Haruhi's mouth fell. Keeping her voice low from where they sat. " _Stop it_!"

Hikaru ignored her.

The judge rubbed the side of his temple, casting a secret glance towards the officer beside him. "Mr. Hitachiin, explain why you haven't had the interest to pay the court the written amount for any of your tickets you've received in the last two years?"

He just shrugged. "I didn't feel like it."

Haruhi laid her face in her hand, feeling all eyes on her and her obnoxious client.

"Mr. Hitachiin, you know for a fact that your license is suspended, don't you? If you plead guilty to all these charges you won't get it back."

"I plead double guilty," he spoke up louder, holding his wrists together. "Trust me your honor, you do not want a civilian like me out on your streets. I'm doing you a favor."

Haruhi slammed his hands down into his lap, giving him the death glare from the side. "Your honor, I assure you, Mr. Hitachiin was not under the influence. Despite his attitude, even he knows better not to do those things. It was all an honest mistake and a great amount of lost paperwork."

"I object that your honor. I'm a hazard to a whole lot of innocent people. I need to be put in my place."

"Your honor, he's lying. Mr. Hitachiin is fully capable of paying off his debts, and he intends to."

"No I don't."

"He does. Mr. Hitachiin's family is very wealthy, and his family is very supportive and I'm sure they'll handle his wrong doing. He just-"

"She's lying. I have no family. I'm broke and insane."

The judge sat up straight. "Mr. Hitachiin. I know who you and your family are, and I don't appreciate your dishonestly."

Hikaru threw his hands up. "I don't appreciate it either. Honestly I wouldn't trust me with the system. There's a place for people like me, and it's certainly not in public. You're better off just locking me up and throwing away the key."

"Sir, you're only fault is over a hundred unpaid parking tickets, and several more parking violations. You're no threat to the system, you're just a really bad driver."

Hikaru hesitated. "...Seems like a perfect excuse to me. I may as well not see the light day again."

"The worst you'll be charged with is six months probation and community service. Your license may or may not be suspended permanently."

He raised his upper lip. "That's the best you can do? I think I murder someone. I should go to jail."

"You murdered no one, Mr. Hitachiin."

"I could have," he pointed his finger at Haruhi. "She helped hide the body."

Haruhi gasped and smacked his finger away. "Your honor, there is no body."

"It decomposed!"

"Shut up!"

a loud bang echoed throughout the court room, and the raging, arguing couple had no choice but to quiet down. They both sat, glaring at each other as though they were out for blood.

The judge peered at the two of them, from Haruhi, moving his eyes to Hikaru through his glasses and closed his book. "Mr Hitachiin will be charged with seven months probation with six weeks community service. Your license will stayed un suspended unless he fails to commute to the charges. Case dismissed."

With another bang from the gavel, Hikaru groaned and threw himself back into his seat in defeat.

* * *

While Hikaru was more than just perturbed with his lawyer, as she had done everything to keep him away from prison. While he tried with all his might to get arrested. Kaoru was in the living room. His legs were crossed and he tried to keep as quiet as possible.

Mayuki sat across the room from him, with his mother and grandmother sitting at his sides. His father and grandfather were busy at a game of chess, leaving the room silent, with only their peaceful breaths.

Everyone was just relaxing on their day off, they didn't need to say anything at all. Kaoru, on the other hand, could talk without stopping, as he had so many things to talk about his brother, but he didn't. If he opened his mouth he was afraid he'd make his wife mad. And she'd leave.

He continued to gaze at her from the top of his magazine, watching her stare at her phone. He wasn't sure what she was doing on it, but he was sure that if he asked, she give an the "eye" and walk away without a word.

That _is_ how they lived now. Whether he liked it or not.

He flipped the page of his magazine. Getting more comfortable. Everything was fine, until his eyes skimmed across a name on the page. One that looked vaguely familiar.

 _'Son of 'CEO of NTT' (Yamato Funai) and daughter of owner to one of the highest financially flourishing design and remodeling companies, (Remiko Fukumoto) have decided to repair and remodel the crumbling, Yakurai Shrine. With the intentions of bringing it back to it's original glory. What the surprise in this, that Mr. Funai and Mrs. Fukumoto are engaged and plan to wed at that very shrine once renovations are completed. Invitations to the wedding are to whomever decide to show up for the occasion. As to honor the special day for the couple and the shrine, they wish to spend it with the people of Yakurai. Such special people.'_

"Remiko..." Kaoru signed, staring at the said couple on the page, who stood in front of the shrine that was surrounded by caution tape and other construction material. "She's... getting married?"

Yazuha turned to her youngest son. "...Who?"

Kazuha shrugged, tipping back her cup, drinking the second serving of her herbal tea. "You know... that black haired female Hikaru was dating in college."

" _Oh_..." Yazuha blinked, crossing her knees. "...Which one?"

Kaoru rolled his eyes, holding up the magazine. "The one who he was actually in love with."

"Oh," Yazuha nodded, turning to her tea cup. "...At one point he said he was in love with all of them so... it's kind of hard to determine-"

"The one who he wasn't lying to, mom."

She tipped her shoulders and threw her head back against the head rest of the couch. "I give up."

"Mom, the one who he _dumped_."

"Nope... still no."

Kaoru groaned and shoved the picture into her face. "This one."

"Oh!" Her grabbed the book, squinting at the tiny picture. "Oh... _Her_. I liked her."

"Yeah, and so did Hikaru," He snatched the book back, glaring at the man standing beside Remiko. "She's getting married in a couple of months, or... whenever."

Kazuha raised her brow. "So? It's not like we know her anymore. Remember what Hikaru said? She dead. So we'll treat her like a dead person and pretend that article doesn't exist."

"Whether he says that she's dead to him or not, Hikaru's still in love with her."

"But she's dead to him."

He frowned. "You know why he says that."

His grandmother shrugged, leaning back into the sofa after a maid just graciously filled her cup again. "Even if he still does, so what? He dumped her, she hates him, and now she's getting married to a man who she's better off with. Problem solved for everyone."

"Except, _Hikaru_."

"He'll be dead by New years."

He gasped. "How can you say that so easily with a straight face all the time?"

"It's better to prepare yourself, isn't it?"

"You're not preparing yourself, you're just being cruel!"

Mr. Hitachiin turned to his son, folding his news paper in his lap. "What do you care about this woman anyway, Kaoru? She and Hikaru haven't seen each other since college."

Mayuki looked at her husband over the top of her phone, but didn't say a thing as she began slipping on her sandals.

"Even so, if Hika sees this he'll be crushed. This is _Tokyo's Times_ , he reads the subscription for these!"

Everyone shrugged and continued to mind their own business.

Kaoru huffed. "How could _I_ have come from such a heartless family?"

His grandmother just tipped her brow. "In all honesty, we don't give a damn. Whether we say something or not, your brother is always going to be angry. He's _always_ angry."

Kaoru opened his mouth, ready to explode with another comment about his grandmother being sick and twisted, but a loud slam from the entry hall interrupted and his witty words died in his throat.

"Well why not? I already have a house full of woman running my life anyway! What's one more?"

"I'm not trying to run your life! I did you favor, a rather gracious one, you shouldn't be mad at me for it."

"Did I ask you to do it? _No_."

"You didn't have to ask, it's my job!"

"You make me want to jump off a bridge."

Kaoru slowly turned around on his heel, blinking widely at the entryway, watching his older brother's shadow on the wall. Watching until his actual brother made an appearance around the corner.

"And stop following me," Hikaru growled, whirling around to meet Haruhi's gave. "You don't have to be here."

She rolled her eyes, for what seemed liked the hundredth time that day. "I'll keep following you until you say thank you."

He turned around, practically stomping away. "For what? You went against the whole plan."

Kaoru appeared at his brother side, magically making him stop once he laid his hand on his shoulder. Or rather... Haruhi was convinced it was magic. As she hadn't been able to get him to hold still all day.

"Hika... what's going on? I thought you were at court? Did it get settled? You're here so does that mean you're not going to jail?"

"Yes," he grumbled back in response. "Fujioka saved the day."

"See," Haruhi threw her hand out towards him, as though pointing out something that was already plainly obvious. "He's been giving me attitude all day. He's upset that I kept him out of prison. Where he wasn't even going to anyway. All I did was soften his charge."

Kaoru looked between the two of them, slumping his hands at his sides. "Hikaru, she's a lady. Act like a gentleman."

Hikaru raised his lip in disgust. "She's makes me gag."

Haruhi clicked her tongue against her teeth. "I told you. He's incapable of saying anything nice. Even if his life depended on it. And I know how much it bothers him so I'm not leaving until he at least says something decent to me."

Kaoru smirked, not moving from his spot. "You're both so stubborn, it's cute."

Hikaru gave an exaggerated groan. "I swear, Kaoru."

"Well, say something nice to the last and she'll leave. By the way Haru, I appreciate you keeping my brother out of trouble."

"You're welcome."

"Don't converse with her! And why does she have a _nickname_?"

"Well I'm a gentleman."

"Fine!" breathing deeply, harder than he should, Hikaru's face scrunched up, as though it was a true struggle to even look the brunette in the face. "Your services were appreciated. Now leave."

Haruhi arched her brow. "That wasn't sincere. And you just repeated what he said."

"Do you want it to be sincere or do you want it to be nice? You can't have both. Though I'm not gonna lie, I'd much rather push you off a bridge than say something nice to you."

Haruhi scoffed. "I'd grab your arm at the last minute and hope you come down with me."

"Aw," Kaoru squeaked, not being able to help himself. "You guys would die together. How romantic."

They pointed their fingers at each other.

"It isn't romantic. She's annoying as hell."

"He's a heartless jerk who embarrassed me in court."

"And I just love how you guys fight like an old married couple. So adorable."

Hikaru and Haruhi both groaned and turned their separate ways, ignoring their past argument as if it had never happened.

Feeling very pleased with himself, Kaoru stuck his hands in his pockets and turned back to the living room, where the other half of his family was looking at him as though he was a complete moron.

Kazuha handed her cup to the closest maid. "And what exactly are you trying to accomplish here?"

"I manage to embarrass the both of them, make them feel insanely uncomfortable to be in the other's presence and settle their argument without even trying," he snickered, flopping down in a chair, throwing a leg over the other. "Isn't it obvious?"

"No."

"They're in love."

"... It's been two months and they've been at each other's throats since day one. I doubt your master plan will work."

"Love is in the air grandmother. It's just really slight," he grinned, politely hooking his finger around the handle of his tiny tea cup. "Don't underestimate my abilities."

"I just don't see it."

"Haruhi may seem intelligent, but in the romance field she had no experience whatsoever, so she has no idea what she's doing. She's overwhelmed. Hikaru however, now's exactly what it feels like to be in love."

"And what? Hikaru's just stupid?"

"To an extent, but haven't you noticed?" His smirk grew widely, brushing the rim of his cup against his lips. "Hikaru broke up with Remiko because of the curse. Why on earth would he be avoiding Haruhi if he didn't love her?"

"You lost me."

"...Trust me, grandmother, I know what I'm doing."

* * *

Ryoji sighed as he laid his cheek on his fist. Sitting there in their living area, draped on the couch in his new dress. With work in less than in hour, he spent that time watching his overly stressed daughter rummage through their things.

It seemed like she was already making a mess of their house.

"I can never find anything in here," Haruhi pouted, placing a small box on the floor, empting the only small closet they had. "I put it here. I know it. There's just so much stuff."

Her father cleaned his teeth, looking at his lipstick in his carry on mirror. "What are you looking for this time darling?"

"That box of recipes. I could have sworn I had it on the counter but now it's not there."

"So... you figure that if it was on the counter, it's in the closet over ten feet away under all the stuff that's been there for months without you even opening the closet door?"

"...I don't know. It's... here somewhere though."

"I don't doubt that, but Haruhi," he leaned to the side of the futon, looking at the mess she had made. "What do you plan to do now? You wanted to make dinner, but you messed up the kitchen and the hallway."

Haruhi shooed him away with a flap of her wrist before burrowing herself in the mas of boxes she had pulled from the tiny storage. "I can't make food without any recipes, I don't memorize that stuff."

He clicked his heels against the floorboards before standing up, fluffing up his skirts. "Didn't you have it yesterday when you made that soup?"

"No that was from my recipe box that the land lady game to us for new years that one year, that isn't the one I'm looking for," Haruhi stretched on her tiptoes, trying to reach what was in the back of the top shelf. "The Hamasaki's have a son and he's having a birthday tomorrow and I said that I'd make his birthday cake."

She glared at the shelves. "But mom has the good cake recipe and I can't find her box. It's because of all this junk."

"Well, Haruhi," He smirked, making his way through the pile of miscellaneous things, "All this junk is mostly your stuff from-"

Haruhi grumbled what he had just said back to him, cutting him off. "If I can make enough from my job to pay for the rest of my semester I might be able to get a job at a better firm so we could buy an actual house. We could move out of this apartment, it's too-"

"Haruhi this is what I'm been trying to tell you," he sighed, laying his freshly manicured hands on her shoulders. "You stress yourself out too much. Go sit down and order lunch, and you can worry about all this stuff later-"

"I got it," she argued, standing on a box so she could reach a bin, Ryoji looked down and opened his mouth to warn her, but he didn't get a chance as a small box fell from one of the shelves and made a loud noise. "...I just need to find my- Ow!"

"Ah! Haruhi darling are you okay?"

Haruhi clutched her head, glancing around the room where she saw a large book that had fallen on her. "...I need to organize this stuff. There's too much of it."

She frowned as she picked it up, still rubbing the crown of her head. "...I don't even know what to do with all this stuff from the Host club." Flipping the cover of the book she realized that it was one of the many photo albums. "Last to graduate so they leave me with all this..."

He watched her from the side before he decided to leave her with the mess and to go to work. He told her so, that he was leaving but she already seemed to be in a daze that he didn't bother to wait for her to respond before leaving.

Hearing the front door shut but not caring, Haruhi flipped another page and stared at the photos taped behind the plastic. She looked at one, that was of her standing between two blondes, one who was the same size as her, and one who stood at least a whole another foot above her.

Another one was of two, tall black haired boys, dressed in ancient Roman armor. The photo was darkened to black and white for dramatic affect.

Another photo was of all five of them, dressed in matching Samurai cosplay. She looked up and saw another box shoved into the corner of the middle shelf of the closet, taped shut but straining. With the giant words 'Host Club' written on the front in big bulky letters.

She looked back down at the book and flipped the page, greeted with a few more pictures, but only two stood out to her. She had seen them before, but they never really mattered to her.

The two boys she had never known but heard about, and the ones who only appeared in two photos. Which were of them. They were the two boys who were in the host club before her, and who left before she even registered for Ouran academy.

In the first photo they were alone, clinging to the other, with soft expression and happy smiles. The other members never let her forget how annoying and troublesome there were, but now that she was older, and they were much younger in the photos, she thought they looked adorable.

In the other photo, however, the boys were grinning, one was on one of the blonde's back, and the other was laughing. The blonde she knew, looked like he was yelling at them, while the other members were a safe distance away, looking unamused.

Their bright ginger hair made them stand out from the rest of them. In the first picture, they sported a nerdy look, but the other one their hair was wildly mussed, and they looked just as everyone described: _Insane_.

The two twins she never knew, and who caused trouble for everyone, pranking the teachers and making girls cry.

Haruhi moved the book closer to her face and grabbed her glasses that were hanging on her neck. Glaring at the two boys.

Her expression fell and the book she was holding fell to the floor, missing her barefoot by an inch. She turned around, tripping on a pile of clothes she had thrown out of the closet and turned the other way, where she stepped on an empty box she had thrown things out of. She tripped over a few more things before reaching the futon. She glared at the phone then trampled back to the pile she had just escaped from.

Grabbing a box, she grabbed the phonebook she had found earlier while looking for the forgotten recipe box and flipped through the pages, looking for the 'T's'.

She counted the letters out loud, from the beginning to what she was looking for. Luckily she didn't have many people she knew with that certain name she was looking for so it didn't take her long to locate it through the similar ones.

After she had found it, she struggled through the stuff on the floor and tripped again on a sandal that didn't have a match and fell on the sofa. Grabbing the phone she had thrown there in the same motion she immediately began dialing in the number.

It rang.

And rang.

And rang.

Ringing for the forth time, she groaned, clutching the phone cord tightly between her fingers, glaring at a pillow as though it had personally offended her.

It rang one more time before a voice finally appeared, sounding vaguely confused.

"...Hello?"

"Tamaki!"

The voice hesitated.

"...Yes?"

She couldn't help but let a small grin appear against her lips. "Good. I was worried you might have changed your number. I-"

Said Tamaki spoke again, interrupting her. "Who is this?"

She dropped her head. "It's me. _Haruhi_. Tamaki, I was-"

"Oh, Haruhi," he sounded as though he was still trying to figure out who he was talking to. "...Oh-... Oh! Haruhi! Oh my gosh! It's Haruhi! _Mon Ami_! Oh... Haruhi's talking to me!"

Haruhi sighed. "Yes, Tamaki. It's me. I know it's been awhile-"

"Awhile? _Awhile_?! Haruhi! Daddy hasn't heard from you in... Haruhi do you know how long it's been!?"

Haurhi had to pull the phone away from her ear as he screeched, and continued to scream at other people in the background. And they were most likely stranger who knew not of a 'Haruhi' especially the one he was screaming about.

"I know I haven't seen anyone since my graduation, but Tamaki..." she stalled, waiting for him to interrupt her, but he didn't. "I need to ask you a question."

"A question?" He gasped. "Haruhi I haven't talked to in almost six years! We need more than just questions, I have a lot of questions to ask you. How's your father? Are you still living in the same neighborhood? Do you have a jo-

"Tamaki! Just... one second. I have all afternoon to talk," she massaged her brow. "It's just a question... do you remember the Host club?"

"Haru! Daddy created the Host club!"

"I know... But the members there."

"Which I'm still friends with... except you apparently, you just want questions..."

"Focus okay? Don't be dramatic," she growled, sitting up on her knees. "There was two boys in the club... They were twins. Do you remember them? They were there before I was."

"Two boys before you? Uh..." Tamaki started whispering to himself, but all Haruhi heard was static. "...There was Huni's little brother, Chika? And Mori's brother-"

"No, no, no... before them. They were twins."

"Oh! Them..." He sounded thrilled, but, after a moment, his voice changed dramatically the opposite way. "Wait... what'd you want to talk about them for? You don't even know them I don't think. And I haven't talked to them since high school."

"I want to know their names. They were apart of the club weren't they? At least at once point they were."

"Sure they were," he made a 'humph' sound, and slight creaking of an office chair was heard in the background. "troublemakers they were... a real pain. They were apart of the Host club before I kicked them out. And you know me Haru, I don't kick anyone out!"

Haruhi nodded, "yeah, you're a real peach, but why?"

"Well I think I might have been because of my mother-"

"No! Tamaki, I mean why did you kick them out of the club?"

"Oh..." On the other side of the line he glared at the phone. "They were jerks, Haru. Completely rotten. They made our customers cry all the time, and insulted everyone they met."

"But don't worry," he added, reassuringly. "They wanted to leave. They liked me kicking them out. They were happy to go. Like they actually... wanted me to."

She licked her lips. "I wonder why, but... what were their names?"

"Why are you interested?"

"I found an old album. I'm just curious. Did you forget? Maybe Kyouya knows..."

"No, no... I remember," he frowned, not liking that their first conversation in so long was about people he didn't even like. "But trust me, Haruhi, they weren't classy enough for the club, so it wasn't a great loss, those two were."

"Dear lord, Tamaki, what were their names?"

Tamaki sighed. "...Hikaru and Kaoru."

Her eyes nearly popped out of her head. "What?! Really?!"

On the other side of the line, Tamaki pulled the phone away and glared at the screen before putting it back to the ear. "What? What's so surprising? Can we talk about something else?"

"No, what was their last name? What's their family's name?" She raised her upper lip and her bottom one disappeared between her teeth. "Was it... Hitachiin?"

"It was."

"Oh god. Really?" She pressed the phone to her chest, looking at the album that was still on the floor in disbelief. "I can't believe I thought they were adorable in those pictures."

"You know, Haruhi..." he spoke again, making her put the phone back up to her face. "If you want to know about them, just look them up. They're very famous in Bunkyo. The press likes to say that it's 'They're town' since that's where their wear house is located."

"No Tamaki... I know exactly who they are."

"Then why did we spend all this time wanting to know their names?! Haru! We could have been talking about me! Aren't you concerned about what daddy's been doing? What about those emails you never responded to?"

"I'm sorry, Tamaki..." she heaved, using her free hand to rub her face. "...But, I just didn't know that they were the same person. I met them and I was just-"

"You met them!? Them of all people? The Hitachiin twins... Haruhi when did you-?!"

"Don't worry, they're just as troublesome as you say they were..." She thought of the adult twins, whom she knew them as, and Hikaru's face was the first to pop into her mind. Though once she got to Kaoru, everything was confusing.

"Sorry, Tamaki... I don't think we're talking about the same Hitachiin twins."

"What do you mean?"

"You say that they were... rotten. But... Kaoru's a sweet heart."

"..."

"..."

"Haruhi..."

"What?"

"Kaoru was the worst one! How can you even say such a thing? Sweetheart I don't think so! That Hikaru was just as bad though. Trust me, they are not sweethearts. They're... they're rotten hearts! and their hearts are rotten!"

"...You're going to be really mad at me for this but... I kind of... slept over at their mansion one time."

"..."

She couldn't help herself. "...And I'm friends with one of them."

After those words passed through her lips, Haruhi had to put the phone down and cover it with a pillow, just an attempt to muffle the loud scream of horror that passed through Tamaki's.

And his scream continued for almost a minute before he calmed down enough to breathe.

It wasn't until he started yelling at her, asking her if she needed medical attention after such a trauma, that she finally realized that she had actually seen Hikaru shirtless. And remembering that she kind of liked it.

From the man, who had continuously slammed doors in her face, shouted at her for no reason, kept unnecessary secrets and who embarrassed her in court. He was a jerk and he didn't deserve her satisfaction whatsoever.

And it was since then that she was convinced neither he or his brother had a reflection.

"Actually Tamaki... I think I may need medical attention."

"My poor Haruhi! It's going to be okay!"


	12. Chapter 12

**The Brief Meeting**

* * *

She let out a sigh, flipping another page of her novel.

It was peaceful, and everything quiet as she sunk deeper into the futon. She was getting used to the tranquility until a muffled voice yelled at her from around the corner.

"Haruhi, have you seen my mascara?"

Haruhi picked up her glass of water. "In the bathroom cabinet."

Her father walked into the living area, hand on his hips. "No. Not that one. That one is for thinner lashes."

Pressing her lips to the rim of her cup, she took a sip before placing it back down on the coffee table. "I have no idea what the difference is. They look the same."

He frowned. "But they're different. And I'm trying something new."

She shrugged, curling her feet under her. "I don't know. You know more about makeup than I do."

Ryoji straightened out his blouse and fluffed up his skirt. "I swear, I failed as a mother."

She just hummed, tongue in cheek. "It's not like I'm clueless about It. I have a bag."

"Oh please, you have blue eye shadow, an old bottle of lip gloss, and a paperclip."

"Paperclips are easier to use than bobby-pins. And that eye shadow is from a friend in middle school, I just haven't gotten around to throwing it all out."

He rolled his eyes. "Or anything for that matter. I've lost my-... Oh there it is!" He leaned over the kitchen counter, retrieving his thin roll of mascara. "Never mind I found it."

Haruhi rolled her eyes as he almost tripped over a pair of his shoes. "Be careful taking the subway. I watched the news, I heard there's some strange guy crawling around bothering pretty girls."

He let out a very man-like chuckle. "You think he'll notice me?"

"She turned away from his bright pink clothing. "Well somebody's bound to notice you."

He laughed again, flapping his wrist in riddance. "I'm off then. Are you going to work today? If not would you be a dear and clean you room? You could loose a small animal in there."

She licked her finger, turning another page. "Sure..."

Ryoji stopped halfway out of the room before turning back to her, almost concerned. "Are you okay here all alone? You've been kind of out of it today and awhile ago... you were convinced that nice man had no reflection."

Haruhi glared and closed her book. "I'm not crazy."

"I didn't say crazy, just... you concern me sometimes."

"Buzz off," she grumbled. "Go to work. I'm cleaning the house today. Then I have to go to the store and do the laundry. I'm done with the Hitachiin's. I don't have to see any of them ever again."

"Yes because they obviously messed with your brain a little..."

" _Work_."

"Right."

He stared at her for a moment longer before leaving for the front door, he hummed to the closet, where he grabbed his shawl from the hanger and threw it on.

He checked his makeup one more time in the mirror before deciding that he was more than presentable and reached for the front door.

It was when he opened it that he was unexpectedly greeted with a fist inches from his face. He backed up and stared at a blonde who stood in the doorway, who was standing there, with his hand up, obviously ready to knock the moment he opened the door.

The blonde grinned instantly. "Ranka!"

Ryoji hesitated, quite bemused. "...And you are?"

He grinned excitedly, throwing his arms out. "It's Tamaki! Remember?"

"..."

"..."

"Eh?"

He laughed, making the middle aged man back up as he grabbed his hand in his. "It's been such a long time. How are you? What's it been? Since Haruhi's graduation? Such a long time ago! _Bonté!_ Is Haruhi here?"

Ryoji opened his mouth, but as his memory finally kicked in he smiled, but that smile didn't last long.

"Oh yes..." he groaned, leaning his upper half back inside. "Haruhi! Someone's at the door, it's for you."

"Whoever it is, tell them to go away."

He turned back to the blonde. "She said _go away_."

Tamaki laughed cheerily, patting his shoulder. "It's okay, I remember my way around. I'll let myself in."

Before Ryoji could protest, he was lightly pushed out of the way for the man to pass through. He stumbled in his heels, then, decided to leave it to his daughter to entertain her guest and go to work.

Haruhi let out a breath of relief as she heard the door shut. She flopped down on her side and snuggled into the cushions, getting ready to read the next line of her book when...

"Haruhi! _Oh_ there you are! Daddy has missed you so much! _Je suis si heureux_ \- _AH_!"

"Tamaki!" She screamed slamming her book shut, accidentally sending it over her head in shock. "What the-

After tripping on a box that was oddly in his way, and interrupting his enthusiastic greeting, Tamaki threw himself back on his feet and fixed his hair.

He then noticed the brunette siting on the couch and abruptly threw himself at her at the moment of eye-contact.

"Oh Haruhi!" He beamed, leaning over the table to stare at her in the face. "It's been so long hasn't it? You look so much different than what I remember. Give daddy a hug!"

"Tamaki, wait-" He put her hands up, but her strength was not prepared for him to literally throw himself at her. He back landed against the cushions and all air was stolen from her lungs. " _Idiot_ , get off!"

Even as a grown man he couldn't hold back his giggles, he wrapped his arms around tightly and brought her tiny form to his chest, stuffing her face into his soft shirt.

"Don't be so cold Haruhi," he pouted, nuzzling his nose into her hair. "You have no idea how worried I've been for the past few years. I thought about you all the time! How come you never called?"

She cursed, trying to push him away. "Tamaki! You can't just come into my house unexpected. You should have called."

"Oh, Haruhi, but I did call remember? Well... you called."

"That was almost two weeks ago, I didn't even knew you were coming."

"I can see that," he lifted his head up, looking around the house. "Have you been ill? It's a little messy...

Haruhi frowned and pried his hands away from her. "...No I just-"

"Sorry Haru, I didn't mean to insult you commoner ways! I like it messy! It shows character."

"Shut up."

"Okay..."

She sat up on her knees, glaring at him as he sat on the other cushion beside her. "What're you even doing here? And so late in the afternoon like this."

Tamaki stuck his bottom lip out, but quickly recovered. "It isn't that late, Haru. It's only four... but that reminds me-"

"No." She slapped her hand over his mouth. "First, tell me there's just you."

He pulled her hand away. "Is It mandatory that I tell you there's just me? Or do you want me to be honest."

"Please tell me that there isn't a limo out-"

"There's a limo outside and everyone is inside it."

She sighed. "The least you could do is warn me. The next time you decide to suddenly show up at my door after six years, I'd appreciate a _heads-up_."

"And as everyone," she added, "don't say-"

"Everyone silly Haruhi!" He grinned even wider. "Kyouya, Huni, Mori. We're going to dinner, isn't it great? We'll be able to-"

"That's great Tamaki, I have to do chores now though, so can you and your friends leave? I've got all this stuff and-"

"But Haruhi..." He muttered, now looking genuinely upset. "They're your friends too. Don't you remember?"

She flapped her wrist. "Yeah, yeah, sorry. But you picked a bad day to visit."

He grabbed her hand, bringing it to his face. "Haven't you missed us? You've ignored my emails and never called back. Haru... I thought you were ignoring us."

"I wasn't ignoring you," she pulled her hand back and moved to stand up. "I just got busy with school and work. And after awhile I stopped getting your emails, so I couldn't reply."

She didn't bother to mention that she had changed her email after awhile of being in Boston.

Tamaki's frown deepened. "But we've missed you. Let's go to dinner together Haruhi. Please? We can catch up! Like the old times. Aren't you happy to see us?"

Haruhi only had to stare into his sad face for a moment before caving.

"Of course I did, dummy," she sighed, watching his face light up again. "I just wasn't expecting you. I thought that you guys forgot about me so I wasn't too concerned about-"

"We could never forget about you Haruhi!" He gasped, grasping her shoulders. "And besides, you called me first remember? so you thought about us too."

"Well that was because I wanted to know-"

She was cut off as he pressed his finger against her lips.

"I know what you're going to say," he inhaled dramatically. "You wanted to know how daddy was doing, because you missed me. But besides that fact, will you come with us? Please Haruhi? Just for dinner? Just this once?"

"But I have-"

"Please? Please, please, please?"

Haruhi looked around, not being able to look into a corner without seeing things piled up. "I... I don't have time."

Then there is was...

The look.

The look no one was ever able to say no to.

The one similar to a small puppy.

"Fine," she groaned, throwing her hands up. "I'll go to dinner, but-"

"Yay! _Merci_ Haruhi," he smiled brightly, and with a sudden movement she was not prepared for, he wrapped his arms around her and lifted her up off her toes. "Now get dressed! It's going to be fancy. I'm so excited! Mommy's missed you too!"

"Goodie."

"I know!"

* * *

"Oh Haru-chan! Hows the Alfredo? Do you like it?"

Haruhi poked and stirred at her Fettuccine Alfredo as if she didn't know what to do with it. "It's fine. I'm just not a huge fan of Italian."

He blinked widely, turning to his cousin, then back to her. "Would you like to order something else?"

"No, this is fine."

Tamaki looked over his shoulder, frowning as it was so crowded in the restaurant. "I didn't expect so many business owners to be here today. There's some pretty big names just sitting around us."

Kyouya sighed, pressing his glasses over the bridge of his nose as he leaned against the cushion of his chair. "What did you expect when you thought of brining us to the busiest street in Bunkyo? And on a Friday... there's bound to be a lot of men here. Must be having public meetings."

The blonde crossed his arms, a little perturbed. "It's not fair, I wanted to spend some time with Haruhi but with all these people here it's hard to let our guard down. You never know when someone of high-class will want to sit and have tea."

Haruhi rolled her eyes at him. "Oh yes, it must be hard being the budding president of a billion yen company. Can't even eat dinner peacefully."

He looked at her. "Oh well it's because-"

"I know how it works Tamaki, you don't have to explain it."

Kyouya picked up a glass, the light fixtures reflecting off his glasses. "That reminds me Haruhi, your work... What do you do now? Aren't you still going to law school?"

"I'm finishing that up," she answered, "I'm working as a criminal defense attorney to earn money to pay for my last semester, then I can get a job at a real firm."

"And how is that working out for you?"

"My clients so far have been a real pain in the ass."

" _Haruhi_ No dirty boy words at the table."

"I saw something interesting in the papers recently," the raven haired man mentioned, pushing his plate away. "That you were a lawyer for a, what Tamaki called, a 'big name'."

"Yeah, though I don't really want to talk about him. I just got out of that case with him and I don't-"

"Oh, I heard about that, I was really surprised too," Tamaki exclaimed, draping his elbows on the table. "Haruhi, when you called me that day I didn't know that it was because you were in a case with one of the... Hitachiin's."

"What? No way Haru-chan," Huni, now interested, turned to his cousin again. "Takashi, isn't, _Hitachiin_... isn't that the name of the two boys who were in the Hot club a long time ago?"

Mori nodded. "Yeah."

"Oh yeah, they're really popular here," Huni continued to rave. "I think I've seen them around sometime ago but I didn't talk to them. The press was all over them that I didn't get a chance to say anything."

Kyouya made a face, obviously not that impressed. "It's no wonder. Those two have it easy. They mooch off their mother's and father's businesses, and are basically there to just promote their mother's work and get the paper's attention. They don't do any work for themselves. Even if one of them is married it doesn't stop the ladies from raving over them. Which makes them stand out here like a sore thumb."

Huni nodded, ignoring his half eaten cuisine. "And their fancy warehouse in located not too far from this restaurant. It's always lit up and teenage girls always go there to see if they can get an autograph." He laughed.

"But..." he frowned, which was a dramatic expression change from just seconds before. "They're not very nice. Which might be another reason they attract so much attention. They're kinda mean to people."

Haruhi turned to Tamaki. "Yeah, that's what I've heard..."

"Do we have to talk about this?" he mumbled in discouragement, folding his arms like a child not getting his way. "Have I told you about my mother and father Haruhi? They're thinking about getting married."

Haruhi turned away from him. "It's strange, I heard about them not being very pleasant, and I could understand that to an extent, but the twin's parents are really nice."

"...Did I tell you that Antoniette had puppies?"

"They _are_ nice," Mori muttered with a nod, "The twins aren't. They were troublesome when they were younger, and from certain articles... it seems like they haven't grown out of it so much."

Haruhi brow slowly furrowed. She looked down at her food an grabbed her fork, poking at the noodles absentmindedly. She wondered just who the Hitachiin's were lying to. The first moment she sat eyes on any of them, they were nice to her and made her stay for tea, even inviting her to a holiday party that was half a year away.

"Well... I'm sure they're not all that bad," she muttered, catching Tamaki's attention instantly. "When I worked with Hikaru he wasn't really nice, but Kaoru's dif-"

"Oh yes, we all want to hear about Haruhi's new _best_ friend," Tamaki pouted, laying them. "Kaoru's the _bestest_ friend of all best friends. Can we talk about something else?"

Kyouya couldn't help but smirk in mockery. "Someone's jealous."

"I'm not jealous, I just don't see why we're so interested in people we haven't seen since high school," Tamaki shoved his half eaten bread roll with his finger. "They're not very nice people, and you were never interested to know about them before. Especially in the club. You knew about them Haruhi, but you never really bothered to know them."

She shrugged, scratching at the floor with her shoe. "That was before I actually knew them. I mean... I spent the night at their mansion I thought I'd make sure that..."

She stopped herself as the while table became eerily silent. Everyone looked at her, and just as Huni was chewing, a piece of chicken fell out of his mouth.

Haruhi glared. " _What_?"

Kyouya caught sight of Tamaki's horrified look and cleared his throat. "...I think that answers our question.

Tamaki started to hyperventilate, but doing so caused him to choke on his wine. Mori reached over and thumped his back, brining the air back into the right places in his body.

"Does..." Huni hesitated, still taken aback by her last comment. "Does Haru-chan have a crush on Kao-chan?"

"What? No!"

Tamaki hid his face in his hands. "Haruhi! I'm not ready to be a grandpa! And to them? The Hitachiin's? I failed as a father."

"Grandpa?" Haruhi questioned, with a look of disgust. "What do you mean? And Kaoru's married, I wasn't talking about him, I meant-"

Tamaki managed to suppress his shout to a whisper. "Oh god, _Hikaru_? Haruhi this is why you need to keep in contact with us! What were you thinking?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Wait, Haru-chan has a crush on Hika-chan!?"

"No!"

"But..." Kyouya crossed his legs. "...you spent the night at their mansion. Isn't that what you said?"

"Yeah but I was just talking about..." Haruhi turned to him, frowning irritably at his empty plate. "I just meant... Wait- Oh god you guys thought I-! That I... that we _did_ something."

Tamaki deflated with a large sigh of relief. "Oh... so you didn't. Good. That brings daddy comfort."

"You guys are ridiculous," she huffed, curling her small nose in a scowl. "Hikaru was a client of mine. We were having a home meeting and I got stuck at their mansion during a storm. Kaoru wouldn't let me leave while it was raining."

Huni threw himself against his chair with a soft sigh. "Oh, well that was nice of him, then. I thought-"

"Nice of him? Haruhi did they do anything weird to you? Do they have one of those weird rooms where you go in and there's strange levers that lead to torture chambers? Did their food move? Do they eat _eyeballs_?"

"...No?"

"...I've always thought they were strange."

"I can see that."

"It's not that Hikaru and Kaoru have always been that way though," Huni argued, with a childish pout plastered on his twenty-seven year old face. "They were really fun to be around for a little while. They were our friends, remember Tama-chan?"

"Well that was _before_ ," Tamaki humphed stubbornly. "They were trouble makers before that but they just took it too far. They were rude, immature and disrespectful. And gave the Host club a bad name. I kicked them out and I can still remember that smirk Kaoru gave me. Like he had just won a battle with us. They were scary."

Haruhi pushed her unfinished plate of food away from her and picked up her glass on water. "I don't know, that was a long time ago, They were what? In middle school? That was over ten years ago. A person can change a lot."

"They were always corrupted, even before the Host club, they always stayed away from people. They're identical and always switched personalities to fool everyone." Tamaki said.

Huni stuck his lip out in sympathy. "They use to say that their own mother couldn't tell them apart."

"I invited them to be in the club when it first started, I thought they'd bring character to the club. They were certainly unique. And it wasn't because of their family's social standing or wealth." The blonde continued. "I had to guess which was which, I didn't figure it out, but they joined on their own will at that point. They walked through the door the first day and claimed that it was just because they needed something to pass the time."

"Then," he heaved. "A year went by, and one day they came through the doors and they were acting weird. One of them started insulting one of the customers, then someone broke a teacup and they both snapped, but Kaoru got really angry for some reason. The next day they didn't go to school, and later I found out from my father that the twins left Ouran. I guess they went to a different school after that, or something. And we never saw them again."

Haruhi played with the hem of her shirt. "...I've never seen Kaoru get angry before. He always seems so happy. It'd be weird. And I've never seen Hikaru smile before."

Huni chewed on the inside of his cheek. He parted his lips, ready to change the subject when a thought accord to him. Though it was mostly a spoken thought rather than anything else.

"...I wonder why they were so unhappy then."

And strangely, that's what everyone was thinking.

Haruhi stood up, grabbing her bag from the side of the chair. "It's getting late... I should get home."

Tamaki nearly shot out of his chair like a rocket. "We'll take you home, Haruhi."

"You have to, dummy. You drove me here."

* * *

"You barely even know her."

"Had I known that you were taking me here to arrange a marriage I would have told you no before hand and saved us all this trouble."

"I think she was kinda cute. She seemed into you."

"She supposed to be into me, that's the whole point!"

"And you crushed her dreams of getting a hot man. You're the douche in this situation."

Hikaru shoved his way through the restaurant's doors and huffed like an angry bull. "The next time you try to set me up like this, at least make sure she doesn't look like my _ex_."

Kaoru turned to look over his shoulder. "I didn't even notice it, I swear." He turned back around and struggled to keep up with his twin. "She was nice anyway you didn't have to reject her dinner invitation. "

He rolled his eyes. "Had I _not_ rejected her dinner invitation, I would have had to go."

The youngest threw his hands up. "That's the plan! Go to dinner with a pretty girl. Get married. Have babies. It's not rocket science."

"I don't want any of those things. And since when have you been in charge whether I have babies or not? Get a life."

"I _do_ have a life. It involves me intruding on yours."

Hikaru ignored that and strode down the sidewalk, glaring at his feet as he walked. "Whatever."

Kaoru smirked. "I win."

"That was a _'screw you'_ whatever."

"At least I know you acknowledge me."

Hikaru rolled his eyes, shoving himself passed a group of people. The sound of a girl squealing in surprise went right over his head, as he was completely unconcerned about it.

Kaoru followed after him, passing through the same people, but having the decency to excuse himself. Without looking, he accidentally pushed a blonde, making them trip and give out a high pitch squeak.

"Ow! Hey!"

"Oh Haru-chan! Are you okay?" Another small blonde went to help the girl stand up. "He pushed Haru-chan..."

Kaoru stopped, and turned his heel against the sidewalk. Flustered in embarrassment. "Uh... _sorry_. Wasn't looking."

He stalled in saying anything else. His eyes fell on a brunette who was straightening out her shirt and fixing her bangs. Her big brown eyes glanced up at him and he instantly lit up, completely oblivious to the situation until then.

"Haruhi!" He grinned. "I wouldn't have expected to see you here."

Haruhi looked up, out of disbelief the air pocketed in her cheeks disappeared and she was left with just her mouth gaping open. "...Kaoru?"

"Thank goodness, Hikaru has been such a stick in the mud today," he rolled his eyes, grasping her hands in his. "He's so cranky."

At first, Hikaru was surprised to see Haruhi there behind him, but considering the many times he'd seen her on unexpected occasions, it didn't get to him too much.

"Really," he tisked, clenching his fists inside his pockets. "do you want to tell her _why_?"

Kaoru brought her close, hugging her against his chest. "...I tried to set him up on a blind date."

"Not a blind _date_ ," Hikaru corrected him stiffly. "A blind _arranged marriage_."

"Whatever," Kaoru dismissed him. "She didn't want you anyway. "

"That's not the point, Kaoru."

"I try to get him a lady friend and suddenly I'm the bad guy."

Haruhi stood there, a little confused as she pried herself away from the younger twin's grasp. "Okay, that's great, but... what were you doing out here?"

Kaoru looked down at his empty hands, then shrugged. "Dinner. Business associates. Boring stuff really. Until Hika decided to cut our nice visit short by saying our grandmother was dying. We're on our way home now."

"...I see."

Tamaki cleared his throat, scowling at the brothers as if they had personally offended him by just standing in his presence. "Well... speak of the devils and they shall appear."

With innocent eyes, Kaoru turned to the blonde who interrupted them and arched his brow. "What's going on?"

"Sorry, Tamaki." The short brunette sighed, stepping away from Kaoru, well out of his arms reach. "These are my friends. We were having a little... unexpected reunion."

Kaoru stared at the blonde. His brow slowly narrowed, creasing his forehead in a sudden scowl. "Wait a minute... you're that Suoh kid from high school. I know you."

Huni, with wide eyes, stood on his tip toes, gripping his cousin's sleeve. "Takashi look! It's Kao-chan and Hika-chan. We were just talking about you guys."

"Huh, _Suoh kid from high school_ ," Tamaki shook his hair out of his face. "You know who we are. But honestly I didn't expect to ever see you again since you stormed out of the club room that day."

Kaoru looked down at Haruhi again, looking shocked and slightly disgusted. "You're friends with these guys, Haruhi?"

Hikaru got comfortable against the brick wall of the restaurant as he glared at the pavement. "What luck."

"We met at Ouran a really long time ago," Haruhi frowned, noticing that looks Kaoru and Tamaki were exchanging. "It's getting really late Tamaki, We should go home."

"Met at Ouran?" Hikaru scoffed. "But you're poor."

Tamaki inhaled deeply, with his cheeks turning pink. "Don't insult Haruhi you hooligan. You're older but I can plainly see your attitude hasn't changed one bit."

Hikaru looked at him in mocking amusement. "You say that as if it insults me."

"Hey, lets not argue in public," Haruhi sighed, curving her lips in a deeper frown. "I don't know what happened but whatever is was it was a long time ago. Kyouya, can we call a cab or is the limo coming back?"

Kaoru turned to Kyouya who instantly pulled out his phone. "Oh god, you're friends with the whole boy-band."

"It was a school club, not a dance group," Tamaki informed firmly, his violet eyes piercing right into Kaoru's. "Just because you didn't like it doesn't mean you have to make fun of it. You were apart of it too if you remember."

"I don't have to make fun of it, you did that yourselves," Kaoru waved his hand towards him, pretending he was gone as he averted his attention back to Haruhi. "Don't tell me you were one of the customers there, Haru..."

"No," she felt tiny, around the large, frustrated men. "...I was a member. I joined during my first year."

His face fell, and deep down, he lost a little respect for her. Even if he wouldn't admit it out loud. "...Oh."

"That's unfortunate," Huni frowned sincerely. "Had you stayed one more semester you could have met Haru-chan a lot sooner."

"Trust me, we would have left the moment she joined," Hikaru stood up straight, ready to walk the direction they were going before hand. "Come on Kaoru, we're taking a detour."

Kaoru looked at Haruhi again, but didn't say anything to her as he turned and was ready to walk away. A slight breeze picked up his hair showing his ears. Huni noticed something as he was still staring at him, ubt he said nothing.

"Right," he answered his twin, with a lingering glance at the former Host club before following his brother. "So if you'll excuse us... Oh, and you were in our way and I'm not sorry anymore for accidentally pushing you."

In their wake, they left Haruhi, feeling utterly shocked.

Tamaki grabbed Haruhi's hand, forcing her to his chest, petting her hair. As if he thought she was left with germs with just being in Kaoru's aura.

"It's almost sad," he muttered, entwining his fingers with hers, tightly. "I remember when they used to be just lonely. Now I don't know what their problem is. Since that day they they've just been so angry."

"That's not right," Haruhi thought out loud, squinting at their shoes. "Kaoru looked angry at me. I've ever seen him look like that before. Is he mad at me now? Did he look mad?"

Kyouya dropped his phone back into pocket. "Hikaru and Kaoru have never liked to Host club after they left. They might not have liked what it was all about."

She looked up, but Hikaru and Kaoru were already gone. Which was confusing, as the sidewalk was a straight shot forward, but she guessed they must have took a turn. "...If they didn't like the idea of it, why would they have joined in the first place?"

He shrugged. "It's annoying but Tamaki can be very persuasive."

She looked into the same direction for a while before turning back to her friends. "Yeah but, Hikaru doesn't seem like the person who could be persuade into something he doesn't like, even if Tamaki's doing the persuading."

Tamaki looked around, pouting. "I'm not that bad."

Kyouya looked at Haruhi, squinting his eyes behind his glasses, apparently being the only one in their small group to notice Haruhi's obvious attraction to the twins, and how concerned she seemed to be towards them

"It doesn't matter," he saw their limo in the distance. "It's time to go. The sun's gone down and if Haruhi isn't home by morning Ranka will have Tamaki's head."

Tamaki frowned again, letting ago of Haruhi to straight his shirt before the limo pulled up to the sidewalk. Huni looked at Haruhi, with large curious eyes, then turned to the direction the twin's went, just as she did. His thought from earlier still weighed on his mind.

"Hmm," he hummed, before following his cousin to one of the doors of the limo. "Kao-chan sure did have a strange tattoo, didn't he?"

Mori looked down at him, but didn't say anything, as he wasn't sure what exactly he was talking about.


	13. Chapter 13

**The Mistake The Twins Made**

* * *

They were young, careless and completely blind to their family's misfortune.

They were identical, non-concerned with what people thought of them.

The one who wasn't Kaoru, was Hikaru.

The one who wasn't Hikaru, was Kaoru.

There was no one else. No one understood, and they didn't want them to.

"Hey, you two look bored!"

 _Until he came along..._

"How about you come start a club with me?"

With solemn eyes, the twins looked up from the book they shared and stared at the blonde who was blocking their light.

Hikaru glowered, looking passed his bangs. "Who's _this_?"

"Oh... I know," Kaoru answered, uninterested. "The girls are always going on about him."

Hikaru shrugged, looking back down at their book. "Oh, he's the Suoh guy who transferred here last spring."

The young blonde smiled, sighing as though it was truly an effort. "Ahh... Of course I guess I've become that popular."

The twins narrowed their brows. " _Huh_?"

"The brilliance of both my appearance and personality shined forth, catching everyone's eye..." he raved egotistically, sweeping his bangs to the side with a glamorous swish. "The fate of a charming man laden with God-given gifts."

They frowned. "We didn't say that..."

"Not to worry!" He looked into the distance, flourishing his hand. "Even though you may never reach my level, you are showing promise."

They groaned, irritated. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, right! The club starts in two months- In April! I'm thinking about opening it when I start high school."

Tamaki looked up, grinning his charming, eye-catching smile at the twins, not bothered at all that they were unimpressed. "You guys will have to commute from muddle school for about a year, but I can arrange all that."

"I'm also inviting Kyouya Ootori from my class," He added, "and Huninozuka and Morinozuka who are a year older-"

The two of them glared. "Will you shut up and go away?"

He blinked, lowering his hand. "...huh?"

"We don't hang out with other people," Kaoru informed with a low grumble.

Hikaru's brow twitched in agreement. "We're not interested in you."

Tamaki hesitated. His shoulders drooped. And for the first time that day, he wasn't sure what he should say. "...Oh, well I thought..."

Hikaru stopped him. "Well you thought wrong."

Kaoru pulled his knee to his chest. "Get lost. You're annoying "

A smirk replaced the disappointed frown, and Tamaki stood up straight again, undamaged. "I see how it is then. Very well! What's your price then? Any requirements?"

The young boys sat on the ground confused. "Requirements..."?

"For the club!"

Kaoru huffed, flicking their book back open to block him from their sight. "We never said we wanted to join your club."

Discouraged, Tamaki pressed his finger to his cheek. "Mm, hmm... Alright, you want to play hard-ball. I get it. You can... Ah, ha! You two... Yes... I know the perfect act! I can see it just by looking at you two together."

They looked at him but didn't answer.

"The brotherly love act! Two brother fighting for love, but their love for each other is taboo because they are siblings. Interesting huh?"

They blushed, horrifyingly embarrassed and slightly disgusted. "What do you think we are? Don't insult us!"

"Oh no you poor boys, it isn't an insult. I hear some girls are into it."

They glared, harder.

 _They had a perfect game for getting rid of annoying people. They never thought twice about it._

"You say you want to get close to us?" They grumbled in unison. "You want us in your club."

"But are you worthy?"

Tamaki fluttered his eyelashes, his words stalling to come out. "...What do you mean?"

They both let out a breath. They stood up and the exact same time and their eyes followed the path up to his bright violet ones.

"You can't make us your puppets for your club without putting in the effort," Hikaru spoke up, dusting off his pants.

"You have to make us think you're worth our time," Kaoru finished.

"I'm great at challenges," he smirked. "What do I have to do?"

Their expressions darkened. "You'll have to win the ' _which one is Hikaru'_ game."

"You have one month," The eldest one spoke. "Try to tell us apart as many times as you want, but you also have to provide a reason. No wild guesses."

"By the way, no one has ever answered to our satisfaction." Kaoru added emotionlessly.

With that, they walked away, snickering under their breath.

"Heh, the students here have to much pride." Hikaru uttered to his brother, with a bitter tone.

"Nobody wants to be tested in such a difficult game," Kaoru answered. "And did you hear who the other club members are? Is he trying to create a group based off pedigree? He must want to add ' _Hitachiin_ ' to that list."

They laughed. "What a dork!"

Tamaki glared, thrusting his finger out in their direction. "Hikaru is on the right and Kaoru is on the left!"

They stopped, glaring at the ground. " _What?_ "

He made a face, dropping his hand. "And I wrong? Then Kaoru is on the right and Hikaru is on the left."

Their bangs hid their eyes . "...Your reason?"

He smirked, throwing out his hand again in confidence. "Aha! My intuition!"

And it was that moment that the twins realized that they might be dealing with the biggest idiot in all Japan.

"Didn't we say no wild guesses?" Hikaru clenched his fist, his face twitched every time he even opened his mouth. "You can't do it so why don't you just buzz off already?"

Kaoru continued to glare at him from behind his brother before he reached for Hikaru's hand. "We're not joining your club. We don't want to."

Tamaki watched them turn around, and walk away from him again. Though, still determined, he followed after them. "But you guys don't even know what the club's about yet! You didn't let me explain!"

"We don't want you to explain!"

And thus the game began. Many times Tamaki attempted to tell the twins apart. From guessing which one was taller, (they were the same height) to which one of them had a flat foot, (Neither did), and guessed who was ticklish, and who laughed the loudest. He tried to get as many clues as he could.

Though still, half of that month passed and he came out with nothing. He was stumped, with no idea, and no way of telling which one of them was Hikaru for sure.

They changed their hair styles very often, so no one could really be sure, and whenever he saw them, they were at school and wore the same outfit. They walked together, spoke to no one but themselves, and simply just did everything together and with no one else.

He had asked his friend Kyouya for help, but the raven hair boy wouldn't have any part of his shenanigans and said that they could simply start the club without the twins, but that wasn't what Tamaki wanted.

He wanted them in his club and he wasn't going to take no for an answer from them.

"The one writing in his notebook is, Hikaru!"

Both Hikaru and Kaoru glanced up from their desks, looking just as uninterested as they did every time he saw them.

Hikaru rolled his eyes and clutched his fingers against his book tighter. "What are you doing in our class-room?"

With his finger still pointed at the younger twin, and his lips huffing and puffing air as though he had been running, Tamaki held his ground and grinned nonetheless. "Am I right? Did I get it right this time?"

"You're not supposed-"

"Aha! I did figured it out!"

The twins both stood up from their desks. "You're not even right..."

And he wasn't right. He was never right. Not even close.

"Well..." he bit his lip, crossing his arms over his lean torso, over his middle school uniform. "Then the one who holds his pencil in his right hand is Kaoru! and Hikaru is the one who-"

"We're both right handed you fool!"

"Alright then," he threw his hands up, a sign of giving up but he was far from that... Far from it indeed. "The one who-"

"Just knock it off already, no more guesses," Kaoru threw his book into his bag, following his older brother out the door. "You're becoming really annoying now. We're going home."

"But you said I can guess as many times as I want!" The blonde whined, following after them. "Don't switch the rules up. And I know now! The one who's in front is Hikaru!"

Hikaru stopped and looked at his brother. But Kaoru stared at the floor. "Your reason?"

"...I don't know. Because..." Tamaki stuttered, chewing the inside of his cheek. "Because you're...Because Hikaru's the oldest! And I can tell."

"That's not good enough of a reason," Hikaru answered churlishly. "And this is getting old. We change our minds."

He blinked, dropping his shoulders. "What do you mean you change your minds? What does that mean?"

"It means we're done," Kaoru explained, with the same tone as his twin. "The game is over. We're not playing anymore."

"But that isn't fair," He argued. "We're not done and I haven't guessed right yet. How are you supposed to come to the club room if I don't win? Unless..." he grinned. "Did you change your minds? You're going to join anyway?"

"No." They answered, and turned around. "We're not joining your dumb club."

Then then they turned back around and walked away once more, pretending as if he no longer existed. And in their small, two-person world, he really didn't exist at all.

"Wait! The... The one in front is Hikaru! I'm for sure this time."

Kaoru's hand tightened around the doorknob, standing behind Hikaru. "No you're not. You just keep guessing. Get lost already."

With that, Tamaki collapsed against one of the desks, emotionally exhausted. "You're right, I'm not for sure... It's too hard. You're too alike in every thing. I can't tell you two apart. It's impossible."

Hikaru tisked. He wasn't sure what he was feeling at that moment. Whether if he was relieved it was over, or upset that someone was actually admitting that no one ever would be able to tell them apart because they were so identical.

Or maybe it was anger, and sadness, from being disappointed again.

"We knew you'd say that," he threw the door open, letting his brother walk through first, just despite of what Tamaki said. "And if you can't bother to learn something so simple, then you're not worth our time."

"But that's ridiculous!" Tamaki exclaimed, his out burst made them freeze in their very tracks. "If you really want people to know the difference between the two of you, you'd put some effort into changing your appearance but you don't. You don't want to be told apart. And that's what doesn't make sense to me. You want to be recognized as one person, but you also want to be recognized as two separate individuals."

"So... I may not be able to tell you apart now, but I don't plan on giving up," he declared, and that was the first time the twins had actually seen him look honest, rather than just being loud and obnoxious. "I still want you two to join, but I won't force you. I want to learn the two of you, so that one day I can look at you and be able to tell which one really is Hikaru."

"If you're ever interested, just know that there will always be a spot, or two, available," he added. "Come down to the high school, and check it out one of these days. And I promise, it won't be a disappointment. Nor a waste of your time."

And it wasn't.

It took awhile, three weeks to be exact. A half a month after their graduation and the opening of the famous, Host club that the twins decided to open the doors.

And it wasn't what they expected at all.

They didn't expect to be greeted with open arms.

But they were.

" _No, no, no_ , you can't slouch like that," Tamaki scolded Hikaru, and abruptly fixed the twin up himself. "Gentleman have perfect posture. Now here, practice standing like that while holding this tray of tea cups. Don't drop any."

Hikaru gasped as the tray of teacups were shoved into his hands. "...This is stupid."

He yelped as Tamaki whacked him in the head with a rolled up magazine. "I don't appreciate the negativity. Being a Host is hard work, and we'll have no slackies."

Kaoru stood from afar, watching in pure disbelief his brother was letting himself be pushed around by the idiot blonde. But that was what they talked about before even opening the doors.

That they'd at least try.

"Hikaru! I don't see you holding a teacup!"

He glared. "I'm Kaoru."

"I don't care who you are, I want to see a teacup in that hand mister."

"This is exciting!" A short blonde giggled from his side. And he was formally introduced as Mitsukuni, but he informed his younger peers they could just call him Huni for short. "Here Kao-chan, do you want me to teach you how to cut cake?"

Kaoru stumbled backwards as a heavy cake knife was dropped into his hands. "Dummy. It's cake. It can't be that hard."

Surprisingly, it was.

"No! You're cutting it wrong. You have to make sure it's completely equal on all pieces! You made it all lopsided!"

"It doesn't matter it's still edible..."

"Oh god it's oozing everywhere! My cake!"

"Mitsukuni, calm down..."

"Ahh! Kao-chan's stabbing it!"

Tamaki watched as the younger twin made their oldest member cry for destroying one of his favorite flavors, he opened his mouth and was about to scold Kaoru for being reckless when he accidentally bumped into Hikaru, causing the tray of teacups to fly off the tray, and shatter on the floor.

Kyouya looked down at the broken table wear and went to go mark it down in his book that it was the third test set, and that they needed to figure out their finances if the newbies were going to break everything.

Eventually, everything worked out. It took awhile, and by Tamaki's standards, it took a very, very long time for the twins to get the hang of how to be a Host, but they managed it. It only took five months for them to be able to pour tea without spilling any, and to be able to place down their teacups without making a sound. And it took even more time for them to figure out how to compliment a lady rather than insult their hair.

And it took everything in Hikaru for him not to insult one girl's bee-nest hairdo, but he didn't say a word, and only smiled.

And Tamaki was quite proud.

Even if there were sometimes when he thought the twin's might crack under the pressure.

He kissed the late girl's hand before shutting the doors of the club. Tamaki let out a long sign and slumped his hands on his hips, grinning at his fellow members.

"Another job well done everyone! I guess we should clean up a little before we go home-"

"Oh my god!" Hikaru collapsed on his knees, breathing heavily. "I can't take this anymore, she was so ugly. I can't lie anymore. It's too hard. And a insult to my family's business."

Kaoru frowned, giving his shoulder a comforting pat. "Get it all out..."

"She looked like a fish!"

Tamaki signed, though this time in hopelessness. "Yeah... get it all out of your system."

The first year of the Host club being present flew passed everyone's head. The twin's were at the brink of graduating to the high school, and the club's popularity skyrocketed. First year to Third year girls were flooding into the third music room, always giddy and squealing. Anticipating on talking to their preferred host.

As their act, the twin's were not so much into flirting with the girls, but were there to keep them company, and to keep on long going conversations (which took them awhile to master but they did it with a lot of emotion effort) and occasionally engaging one another in flirtatious acts. Tamaki was surprised at how popular the twins actually became, but to his amusement, he was still the top most requested.

It was the day before the last day until the graduation party the Host club was throwing in the main hall, and even the twins were a little excited. Which was rare.

But it was that night, at their family's mansion, that everything changed. One that changed the twin's view on life forever.

They never expected it to all go away.

Yazuha sat on the couch, rubbing her fingers. "But... they've been so happy lately."

"They'll be starting high school soon," her father mentioned, sitting beside Kazuha. "It'll be better for them to know now rather than later."

For the first time in a long time, tears welded in her eyes. "...But they won't understand. They're still just kids."

Kazuha, with her hair pulled back in a bundle of flowers, clutched her bike helmet in her hands. "They're getting older. They'll need to know that later it can't just be the two of them."

Yazuha stared at her hands, feeling her husband grip her shoulder comfortingly. "But they aren't interested in girls. And they were talking about their new friends they made."

"They need to be told. The virus will kick in and they won't be prepared."

"...What virus?"

They turned their heads, only to see the twins in the doorway. Standing there, still in their school uniforms from earlier. Their mother stood up first, drying her face the best she could with her sleeve.

It was the first time they had ever seen her cry.

Hikaru stood beside his younger brother, clutching his hand. Now holding it tighter as their family stared at them in empathy.

"Boys..." she managed through a clenched throat. "You're... supposed to be upstairs."

Kaoru wasn't sure what it was that caused their unhappy expressions, but he held onto his brother's hand even tighter.

"Is there something wrong with us?"

"No," she answered in a panic tone. "No, there's nothing wrong." The twins stumbled backwards, taken aback by their mother walking to them, and pulling them both close. "There's nothing wrong with you. You're perfect."

They stood in place, not moving to hug her back. Hikaru held still while Kaoru hid his face in her short hair.

"But you said there was something-"

She pulled back, cupping their faces between her soft hands. "There's nothing wrong with either of you... you're just special. And that makes you different than other people. But... that isn't bad."

They always knew they were special. Since the day they could tell that they looked the same they knew they were different than everyone else. The one who was not Kaoru was Hikaru, and the one who was not Hikaru was Kaoru. The was absolute.

As their mother lead them to the couch, sitting at her sides, she stroked their hair, letting them lean against her.

"There's something about you that makes you very different from other people. Something that makes us all different from everyone else," she explained, as gently as possible.

Their grandfather looked down at them, his cheeks twitching under the pressure. "Don't ever let people treat you like something you're not. Don't let them make you out to be a monster. That's not what we are."

Hikaru stood up, glaring at their grandfather, offended. "We're not weird. It's not our fault we look the same."

The room fell silent, until their father spoke up from the chair in the corner. "It isn't your looks, Hikaru. It's something else. It's just complicated."

Kaoru turned to their mother again, frowning. "Did we do something wrong?"

Overwhelmed with emotions, she pulled him close again, smashing his face to her chest. "No. Someone else did. I know you go to school with that Nekozawa boy-"

"So?"

"You can't go near him anymore. Him and his family are bad people. You can't go near any of them anymore."

"Why?"

"They'll hurt you."

"For what?"

"That's just what they do to people like us. They blame us for their problems."

Hikaru sat back down, glaring at his feet. "But we didn't do anything to them."

Yazuha hesitated. "...It was a really long time ago."

They always knew they were special. Everyone else had a reflection, while they did not. But that never bothered them. They just turned to look at each other and knew what they looked like. They believed that that was why they were born twins. They needed each other.

But it wasn't until that night, that they learned just how different they were from everyone else. Just how special they were. How much they didn't fit in.

And how much people could hurt them. And they were reminded just how little they needed anyone else other than each other and how little friends meant to them.

And they learned they could trust no one, and how much people would hate them if they knew what it was that made them so different.

Their family always told them how much they loved them, when they were younger, and that no matter what, even if other people didn't, they'd always love them.

Their family members were the only ones who wouldn't hurt them.

"...A curse?"

* * *

Dumping a box down on another one, Tamaki pulled his bangs out of his face and looked over his shoulder, wiping sweat off his forehead with his sleeve.

"I don't know why you refused to let me get some help from some other clubs. There's just too much stuff here."

Kyouya looked up from his notebook, eyeing Mori who stood on a ladder, placing a banner up on the wall. "Do you think that members from other clubs would do this for free? They'd ask for something and thanks for all the sweets we needed to order for the party and the supplies and the rental fees for the costumes, we can't afford anything right now."

"But couldn't we just auction something off?"

"Auction what off? Your hair? We don't have anything else for the customers to buy."

Tamaki looked away, pouting as he had to lift another box of decorations until he stopped.

"...Do you really think they'd bid on my hair?"

"Tamaki, the ladies would bid on a napkin you sneezed on."

"Really?"

Huni looked away from what he was doing and nodded. "One of the ladies tried to steal Tama-chan's cup he was drinking out of, because his mouth touched it."

Tamaki dropped the box he held, fixing his hair. "A being such as myself only comes along once in awhile. I can't blame them for being so mesmerized."

Kyouya tilted his glasses back up his face and continued to count the flowers he had placed on one of the tables. "Well unless you want to auction off the shirt off your back for some money to help organize this then get back to work."

"But Kyo-chan, can't you get some of your private officers to help us? Tachibana seems nice."

"Why would I ask my bodyguards for help when we have two other members to help us," he growled back, looking around the room. "Tamaki, where are the twins?"

The blonde perked up, glancing around the club room. "Uh... Now that I think about it... I haven't seen them all day."

Huni blinked, plopping himself down on a stool. "Hika-chan and Kao-chan are probably still in class. Maybe they had a test. They always do their homework at the last minute."

Tamaki grumbled, laying his elbow against one of the walls. "It isn't fair. They always skip out during the hard stuff and show up when we're all finished. They never help with the settings."

Mori stepped down the ladder after glancing out the open hallway. "Tamaki. Brace yourself."

Tamaki looked up at him, his voice hitching in confusion. "Why?"

"Look it's Tamaki-kun!"

"Oh Tamaki! You look so manly today!"

"What are you doing? getting ready for the party?"

The blonde had no time to mentally complain to himself for leaving the door open, as a handful of their customers flooded into the club room.

"Ladies!" He greeted, with a charming grin. Making the girl in the back silently swoon. "We're just preparing for the party tomorrow. I apologize that everything is a mess. We weren't expecting-"

"Oh if it's too much trouble for you we'll help."

The girls smiled brightly, squealing. "We'll help you Tamaki-kun! Just tell us what we need to do."

Of course, being the gentleman that he was, he couldn't deny them. He reached for the hand of the girl in front and brought her knuckles to his lips. "That's very kind, princess, but we wouldn't want you to stress."

She bit her lip and squealed, flustered darker than a ripe cherry. "Oh, Tamaki... That's so sweet."

"But it really wouldn't be any harm, Tamaki!"

"Here we'll help with the table settings."

"And the flower arrangements."

"Were do you want the streamers?"

Tamaki lifted his finger, trying to say something to get them to stop, but the bright smiles on their faces made his words die in his throat. He didn't have the heart to say anything against it.

"Oh..." he swallowed, "okay."

"Oh hey! Hika-chan and Kao-chan are here!" Huni exclaimed, giddily, holding down from his stool "Finally, we've been waiting forever for you guys to get here."

The girls turned to look behind them. Some grinned wider than others when they saw the twins dragging themselves through the doorway. They dropped everything they held and ran away from Tamaki as he was explaining to one of them were the streamers went, and ran towards the two younger hosts instead.

Tamaki looked at them and scowled, shaking with suppressed frustration. "Guys! You're late. You were supposed to be here no later than after class to help with the preparations. When I said 'take your time' I didn't mean it lit..." His words trained off as he saw them.

Looking dark and groggy, Hikaru and Kaoru ignored the girls who were in their way, and pushed passed them. Their hair was more mussed than usual, with their skin pale and their faces creased in hard frowns.

"Hika-chan," Huni spoke to one of them, pouting. "What's the matter? Why aren't you wearing your school uniforms?" He glanced down at their matching hoodies. It was odd since he hadn't seen them wear regular matching clothes in a long time.

They looked at him and their noses curled in a glare.

"It's none of your business."

Huni scrunched his shoulders, floating towards the girls who instantly became to comfort him.

They tisked in disgust and turned to the couch, where Kyouya sat, typing up the finances of the club on his laptop. They grabbed their bags they had left there over night be accident then turned to walk away when the raven haired boy piped up in annoyance. Annoyance that had been building up all day since five that morning.

"Where do you think you two are going? You have work to do. Send these girls away so we can get this done now that you guys are here. Move these boxes out of the way."

Hikaru looked at him, clutching the handle of his bag. "We're going home."

Kyouya looked up, the light reflecting off his glasses. "You just _got_ here."

"But we're not staying." Kaoru grumbled back.

"Then why come? The party is tomorrow so you can't afford to skip out."

They ignored him also, and barely spared him a glance as they turned around. Or at least they tried to, until their habit of looking down while walking worked against them, as they walked right into Tamaki, or more like, they ran into his hands he shoved against their foreheads.

"Are you two going to help or not? There's a lot to do and I'd rather not have our guests doing your work," he asked, in a commanding tone. "Grab that broom and dust pan over there in the corner, we have to get this place in tip-top shape before the part-"

Hikaru slapped his hand away from them. "You're not the boss of us."

He gasped, holding his potentially wounded hand to his chest. "What? I never said I was the boss of you. Everyone's working. You guys just showed up late. Where've you been anyway? We've been waiting for you guys to show up for over an hour."

"We were busy."

That day it all went down hill. The twins never had any friends before the host club, and the club really did feel like they had a family away from their own. The members were all older than them, and before hand, it was just them. The club made them feel as if they belonged somewhere, and made them feel less alone, so it wasn't just the two of them against everyone.

Never again would they make the same mistake.

Their world opened up a little more to them.

But it shut just as fast. They secured the lock of their world, and swallowed the key.

Tamaki grunted, pulling them back to him as they tried to leave. "What's with the sour faces? The party's tomorrow, we should be having fun. What happened? You were so different when you left yesterday."

Under the shadow of their hoodies laid their cold glares. The twins paid no more attention to their club's leader and ignored his sudden rant about club members not obeying their king. They tried again to get to the door when two girls (their most frequent guests), stepped in front of them, flustered red.

"Hika-kun, Kao-kun," one of them muttered, timidly, "you look pale, are you ill? Did you get sick during the weekend?"

The boys stared at them, after a moment Hikaru decided to just ignore them too. He turned around, grabbing his brother's hand, but the other girl from the side gripped Kaoru's other arm, clinging to him with a worried frown.

"Maybe you should go to the nurse's office?"

Kaoru panicked as she grabbed him. His blood flared up like molten lava and he shoved her away. She fell backwards with a squeal.

The room silenced, as all eyes fell on the twin who had pushed her. The girl looked up with tears above her lashes. While not particularly hurt, she was shocked and emotionally scarred from being pushed to the floor by one of the hosts she had a crush on.

Kaoru glared, feeling his brother's hand tightened around his. "... _Don't touch_ _me_."

She blinked, not moving.

"Hikaru! Kaoru!" Tamaki hollered, angry, making all the girls fearful to even be in the room with the hosts. He got to the girl and helped her up, genuinely apologizing for what happened before turning to the twins, glaring. "What's the matter with you? You can't disrespect the girls because you're mad."

"Don't worry," Kaoru answered, glowering. "We forgot our stuff from yesterday, and we're leaving."

"But Hika-chan," Huni pouted, comforting the girl who was pushed, with his stuffed bunny. "what's the matter? we're your friends, you can tell us."

"You're not our friends," he snapped, making the short blonde flinch. "You never were our friends. We shouldn't have joined this stupid club in the first place."

Tamaki turned around, he opened his mouth to try to get the girls from leaving, but it was too late, as they were all crowded around Kyouya for protection.

"I don't know what's gotten into you two, but I don't appreciate this behavior in the club room," he stated, his tone in a low uncharacteristic grumble. "I'm going to have to ask you two to skip todays activities to think about your actions. And not come back until you remember not to act that way towards the customers."

"And after all this time," he continued, his face falling. "Honestly Hikaru, I thought you guys changed."

"Figures, being here wasn't even worth it," Kaoru gripping the handle of his bag so tight his knuckles turned white. "You've never known, and you still can't tell which one of us you're talking to."

Tamaki clenched his jaw, biting his tongue. "Well-! I... That isn't our fault. You do this on purpose. Why are you acting like this?"

Watching the look their boss continued to give his little brother, Hikaru tightened his fists and his first impulse was to make a scene. An instant reflex to protect his younger twin from any harm.

He threw his arm out, knocking over a vase. It shattered immediately after contact with the floor. The few girls who were still in the room gasped and clung to one another in fear.

Tamaki looked towards him, his mouth gaping open in horror. "Kao-er... Hikaru! Stop it!"

"You should have thought more about inviting us here. Knowing you had no intentions of actually caring," Hikaru blurted, the broken glass crunched beneath his feet. "We gave you more than enough time but you didn't try hard enough. You're not worth it. This place was _never_ worth anything."

His shoulders fell, staring at the twin's expressions. "...Where is this even coming from? What changed?"

"We were always like this, and you knew that," Kaoru hissed. "You should have just minded your own damn business and not have talked to us at all! It's all your fault!"

Tamaki winced, as if those words physically hurt him. "Well-... fine! If you never wanted to be in the club in the first place you should have never come. I gave you a choice. But if you don't care then fine, don't come back to the club at all."

Kaoru's upper lip curved into that haunting, victorious smirk. "Then _say it_."

Tamaki pinched his lips closed, biting the inside of his cheeks. "Fine. If you hate it so much you're _banned_. _Both_ of you. Never come back."

"But Tama-chan!" Huni cried, with fresh tears beginning to weld. "No. You can't kick them out."

"They don't want to be here," he glued his gaze to the twins. "If you don't want to be here then you don't have to be, but this is unacceptable behavior for the club and I'm not going to allow it, and if you're not going to changed then you're forbid to ever come back."

Hikaru grabbed his brother's hand again, pulling him with him to the door. "We weren't planning on ever _coming_ back."

And with that, they left. The door slammed close so loud even Kyouya flinched. A week after the graduation party, as everyone was attending school in a new grade Tamaki was informed by his father that the day after the twin's eviction from the club their mother came to the school to take them off the attendance list.

The twins left the school and they never saw them again.

 _Not until eleven years later..._

* * *

"It was awful! They came, trashed the club room and left. Haruhi you should have seen it. They were real catastrophes back then."

Haruhi looked up from her book, with a fork between her lips and her mouth full of leftovers. "Why are you still here?"

Tamaki slumped his elbow on the table shaking his head at his last memory of the twins. "I just don't know anymore Haru... I just don't know."

She looked around the wall, searching for the clock. "It's dinner time..."

"Oh, and while we're talking, I have to tell you the time they-"

"Everyone else left two hours ago."

"But Haru if you're friends with them You have to know that-"

"Just go home already!"

"Hey, daddy doesn't appreciate that kind of attitude."

"Bite me."


	14. Chapter 14

**Save The Date**

* * *

 _Two days earlier_

It was warm that morning. It was a nice change from the recent dark and gloomy days. The air was still, not a breeze blew. And it hadn't for the whole few hours she had been awake herself.

Her car drove slowly up the long driveway to the Hitachiin's mansion. Her hands gripped the steering wheel, with her toes curling inside her shoes against the gas pedal. She looked around the outside, in the mix of evergreens there were cherry blossoms at random. They were green but she thought of how pretty the gardens would get in early spring.

She thought about Hikaru, and in truths, she had been thinking about the twins since the night before, but her mind thought of Hikaru more, particularly.

She wondered if he liked Cherry blossoms too. But that seemed silly to think. A man with his way of thinking couldn't possibly stop a moment to even look at something so meaningless as a flower.

Her car came to an immediate stop, as the gate to the mansion was closed. The days she had visited before, they were always open, but that day they were closed, making her contemplate whether she should have came at all.

Though still curious, she merely stepped out of the car and pushed the gate open. It was cracked, peaking into the rest of the driveway, as if someone didn't try hard enough to shut it properly the last time it was used. It creaked and cried as she pushed it open, making her curl her nose at the awful noise it made. Making her think that it wasn't used a lot.

But she didn't care about the gate enough to think about it too much longer, she sat back into her car and drove up the rest of the way, where the mansion sat surrounded by trees. She glanced around the round driveway that encircled the large fountain, and noticed a plain silver car parked at the side. One that surely wasn't worth even parking in eyesight of the wealthy family.

A middle aged man hunched over the fountain. His clothes and face were smirched with dirt as he cleaned the water with a netted hoop. He must have been one of their many gardeners.

She parked the car, and as if the gardener hadn't seen her before, he did now. She was close enough to him once she stepped out of her car that she saw his eyes widen.

He stood up, frowning in alertness. "Can I help you, miss?"

Haruhi froze, not expecting him to talk. "Sorry, I... I didn't mean to come uninvited. I just... wanted to talk to... the Hitachiin's."

"The gate was closed."

She swallowed. "I-... well it... wasn't locked, I wasn't sure if..."

"Did they invite you?"

"...No."

His expression faltered to suspicion. "What are you here for then? Are you a doctor?"

She shook her head instantly, eyes wide. "No. I'm just a student. I was... Mr. Hitachiin's lawyer."

"Did He violate his probation?"

"Not that I know of."

"What do you want then? The Hitachiin's, I don't think, were planning on having company today."

She licked her lips, casting her gaze back to her car. Wishing she hadn't had stepped out of it. "I just... needed to talk to Kaoru today, if he'd let me. Is he home?"

"Everyone's home."

"...Do you think I could... talk to them?"

The man turned back to his work. "If they let you in, then you might be able to."

confused, Haruhi made her way to the large house. And up the steps to reach the door. After being treated like a guest, being forced to stay for tea, always being told to come back soon, this behavior was weird. She received disapproving looks, almost as if they were disgusted by her. She slowly walked passed a woman tending to the climbing roses on the pillars and kept her eyes avoiding hers, once she caught sight of her dirty look.

She knocked on the door, biting her lip. Her skin had grown hotter under her shirt and she was even scared to meet anymore people. She felt different. What made her think that just because a bunch of rich people accepted her earlier didn't mean they had to continue liking her.

Maybe it was only because she was Hikaru's lawyer that they were nice and tolerated her?

She remembered the look on Kaoru's face the last tie she saw him. After he found out something so little. That she was a member of a club he once was a member of too. He was fine before she told him that. Maybe he wasn't so much mad at her, just the Host club and the others who were apart of it.

She waited longer, rubbing her shoes into the cement porch. After a moment longer of waiting she decided to give up, and leave.

The door suddenly slammed open once her back was turned and she whirled around fast, being faced with another man who she didn't recognize.

"It isn't my fault your family is a bunch of freaks. I try to be nice, but there's only so much I can do."

Kaoru stood behind him, holding the door. "You'd think that if we paid you more than a regular doctor you'd try a little harder."

The man threw his arms up, his tiny black mustache twitching in exasperation. "I'd rather be a regular doctor. You just had to get me mixed up in all this weirdness."

The young twin rolled his eyes, holding out his hand. "You think about that the next time you see your pay check."

"You act like you people pay me millions." The man reached into his deep pocket and dropped a small orange pill bottle into his hands.

"Well we're certainly not paying you to complain about it." Kaoru grumbled back, curling his fingers around the bottle. "This is smaller than the last bottle."

"I can't keep giving him the same size of dosage."

Kaoru stared down at it, concerned. "Why not?"

"I already told you why," the man fixed his shirt and shoved his hands into his pockets, walking the other way. "I can't give him medication for something that isn't an illness."

He sighed. "Fine."

Nothing else was said between the two of them. The man brushed shoulders with Haruhi, as they seemed to be the same size, but he didn't bother to look her way and made his way down to the silver car in the driveway.

She turned back around, only to see Kaoru staring back at her..

"Haruhi," he spoke quietly. "What are you doing here?"

"Uh..." she chewed on her cheek. "I was just-... I came here because of yesterday. I wanted to make sure you weren't-"

"What about yesterday?"

She hesitated. "About my friends... I'm not sure what it is between you all, but I wanted t make sure they didn't say anything that made you upset."

"And..." she added looking away embarrassed under his blank expression. "And I wanted to apologize. I think I might have... made you mad. You looked mad when you left And I just..."

He blinked. His face softening in thought. "No?"

"So you're not mad at me?"

"No."

"Oh..." she took a breath, before turning around slightly. "Okay then, I guess. I just wanted to make sure my friends didn't offend you or anything. Tamaki is always loud like that and I wasn't sure if he had said something without thinking."

"I know what he's like," he answered sourly. His tone made her flinch. "He doesn't think when he says anything. He's an idiot."

She couldn't argue with that. "Yeah he is but... about the host club. You said that-"

"I don't want to talk about the Host club. It was a horrible idea that had no purpose."

He began to shut the door, but her hand caught it's frame. Making him stop.

"Sorry," she said, a little louder than a whisper. "Is Hikaru here? I thought that... while I stopped here I'd give him the last of his paper work for when he's supposed to go to the courthouse in January."

Kaoru lowered his brow. "What did he do now?"

"Nothing... it's about his probation officer."

He waited until her hand released the door before trying to close it again. "Hikaru's upstairs, but he can't see anyone right now. Sorry Haruhi, but I think you should leave. It isn't a great day for visitations."

She opened her mouth, ready to ask him to explain. And with a concerned frown she almost did just that when the door was suddenly taken from Kaoru. He was shooed by a hand and was shoved away.

"Go away," Kazuha blurted out, forcing Kaoru away from the doorway. " If you're going to complain, complain to your brother. He's been doing a lot of that himself too. Now leave her alone."

Kaoru looked at her as though she was acting out as a action of treachery. "But-"

"Leave."

"Grandmother, she doesn't-"

She continued to flap her wrist until he decided to do what she said. "I think I remember Hikaru saying he was going to jump out the third story window."

"He's said that three times today."

"And kami knows we all wish he would, now go check on him."

Kaoru stared at her, glanced at Haruhi then turned around, leaving the two woman alone. With a breath induced grumble that made Haruhi wonder whether Hikaru and Kaoru witched personalities for a day.

"Such a rotten attitude today," Kazuha huffed in annoyance, leaning against the doorframe. "They're two peas in a pod, those two are. But ignore him. The doctor says it's just stress. He's usually less of an ass."

Haruhi's eyes widened at that description of her friend but didn't say a word.

"He's been like that all day," she admitted, "Huffing and puffing and bossing everyone around. Like night he was a wreck now he's just annoying."

"Last night?" the brunette whined. "Is he that mad at me?"

"No one has seen Mayuki since yesterday morning and Hikaru got sick last night. He's just mad nothings going his way."

"Hikaru got sick?" she stood up straight. "Is he okay? I saw the doctor leave..."

Kazuha gave a dark smirk.

"Was it serious?" she added, thinking of the last thing she heard the doctor say. "Or... just a cold?"

"You can never tell with him," the elder sighed hopelessly. "He could have a fever or be _dying_ and complain all the same."

"I thought about talking to him today, but... I understand he's occupied." Haruhi rubbed her shoulder. "I apologize for coming unexpected, I should-"

"No, no," she silenced herself as the twins grandmother stuck her finger up. "I have plans for you."

"...Huh?"

"My grandsons are two peas in a pod- means... they're both pretty stupid when it comes to certain things," she leaned closer to the girl, who, slightly fearful, leaned back a bit. "Things have been pretty stressful recently. I think they need a break."

"...What does that mean?"

Kazuha rolled her eyes at todays generation. "You're taking them out on a date."

Haruhi gave a sharp intake of breath. "Eh?"

"Well why not?"

"I... I can't go out with them. Mr. Hitachiin, I-" she paused, "...I don't see how that would help with anything. They're both mad at me and that'll cause more problems than solve. I think I should just go home. Would you tell Hikaru I have something for him? Though I doubt he'd care."

"True," the woman spoke up again once Haruhi was half way down the steps. "And I don't think Hikaru would agree to go out with you, since he's scare of women an all..."

Haruhi stopped and turned her head, arching her brow. "Yes. I don't think he'd appreciate it that much."

"Yeah, so take Kaoru."

"I'm not taking Kaoru out."

She placed her finger to her cheek. "Yes. I think it would be good for him."

Haruhi wanted to laugh. "I don't think I want to involve myself with him like that. I think I'd rather go home."

"That's a shame," Kazuha sighed, "he's been so lonely and with so many problems in his marriage. It's making him really sad to be honest. The twin's don't have any friends and I think Kaoru's taken a liking to you. He called you his best friend."

Her face fell. "...He said that?"

"I can't be helped I guess," the woman turned around, slowly shutting the door. "He's becoming just like his older brother. Sulking all the time, snapping at anyone who tried to talk to him. He's so upset about Mayuki that he'd appreciate the thought, an knowing that someone other than his own relatives like him. Poor boy feels so alone all the time."

Secretly she looked back at her. "Bet that's why he's so cranky..."

Haruhi looked devastated. "...I didn't know it was like that."

"Yes. He's so unfortunate."

"Maybe... we could go out for coffee one of these days. But I don't want to-"

"Great!" Kazuha smirked wider. "There's a nice coffee shop in that new mall that's been built downtown from here. I think that would be a nice place. Saturday would be a good day. Don't you think?"

"But I-"

"Wear something nice too."

"What does that have to-"

"He'll see you there." She chuckled, slamming the door shut before Haruhi could get in another word.

She cracked her knuckles and slumped her back against the door. "That's the thing with today's generation. I think they just keep getting more gullible then the last."

Kaoru snickered, hidden against the wall. "Sweetest thing isn't she? But you know grandmother..." he glared. "The plan wasn't to make me sound so pathetic."

She shrugged. "She believed it didn't she?"

"And it was supposed to be Hikaru, not me."

"Well my idea was better," she stood up, fluffing up her hairdo. "How did you know she'd come today anyway?"

He puffed out his chest with a smug grin. "I didn't. I took a guess."

"I knew you were my favorite."

"I knew that too."

* * *

 _present_

Haruhi groaned as she looked around the large halls of the shopping mall. Watching many strangers walk passed her as she sat by herself in the lobby.

She sighed, leaning against the bench. With only one thought in mind.

"...How did I get myself into this?"

She stood up, yawning. When she was asked to take Kaoru out, even if she knew he didn't seem so pleased with her, but she didn't expect him to take so long. She had been waiting at the mall, in front of the small coffee parlor for almost an hour.

She looked around, biting her lip. She was there, but wondered how Kazuha could have possibly gotten Kaoru away from the house when his wife was nowhere to be found while his brother was sick.

She shook her head at the ridiculous possibilities. "I'm going home."

Passing many wandering shoppers in the big store and immediately pulled out her phone to check the time, so much of her time was wasted just waiting around. She needed to do the laundry, finish sorting the junk that kept crawling out of the closet and mop the kitchen. If she didn't get home soon enough she wouldn't have time to put food in the crockpot.

Her hazed reflection in the shiny tile stared back at her as she stared at the floor. Many brushed shoulders with her, then barked at her for not being careful, but she ignored them as a common occurrence until she walked right into someone's back.

Alert she stood up straight and fixed her hair. "I'm sorry. I-... I wasn't looking."

They turned to her. Their auburn bangs hiding half of their face.

She jumped back. "Kaoru?"

His eyes widened. "What the hell are you doing here? You're following me around public now too?"

Haruhi gasped. Embarrassment heated her cheeks. "H... Hikaru?"

Hikaru rubbed his face, clutching a piece of paper in his other hand. "Honestly, I don't even want to know this time."

She frowned, looking around. "But... where's Kaoru? I wasn't expecting both of you."

He lowered his hand. "Why would you be expecting any one of us?"

"But... Your grandmother said..." she leaned to ne side, looking behind him but he was the only one there who she recognized. "Did Kaoru even come?"

"Why would he have come?" his gaze lowered to her shoes, having a hard time not finding things wrong with her outfit and messy hair. "As of five seconds ago I was alone."

"Why did... why did you come here?"

"I am a single man living in a free country. I'm pretty sure I can do whatever I want."

She huffed, looking over her shoulder, just for good measures. "Look you don't have to give me attitude. I was just asking. If Kaoru isn't here than I don't see any reason to stay here so I'm going home. Don't worry about me messing up your "vibe" or anything. I have work to do."

Hikaru stood, with his feet planted to the floor. Glaring at her backside as she walked away. "Why would you be waiting for Kaoru?"

She stopped, her words catching in her throat. "Uh... I just thought he'd be here. He didn't say anything but your grandmother told me to meet him here at eleven."

With a shrug she tried to leave again, but a crowd of people blocked her way. "But I guess he couldn't make it so-"

"Kaoru was home when I left," he answered over her, coldly. "He practically pushed me out the door this morning."

"Oh..." her heel rapped the floor in awkwardness. "Well... it's not like it bothers me. I'm not the one who set us up."

He clutched his hands tightly at his sides. "Set you up? Stop trying to involve yourself with my little brother."

"I wasn't," she replied, with her tone hitching in defense. "I tried telling your grandmother about it but she wouldn't leave it alone. She told me to come here, I felt bad for Kaoru. I... didn't want him to be upset with me anymore. He's been mad at me."

"If _only_ he was mad at you." she flinched at his ego stabbing groan. "He's been talking non stop about you since we ran into your petty friends."

She raised her eyelids, trying to ignore the prying eyes from around them. "But she said he's upset. Mayuki left and he was sad that you caught the cold."

"Mayuki always leaves, he's used to it," he growled, turning around to look at the grocery list his grandmother handed him earlier that day. "Dammit! They think I'm their puppet."

Haruhi cocked her head. "...What do you mean? They said-"

He turned back around. "You were played for a fool, stupid."

"So... you weren't really sick either?"

"... _No_."

"But your place... it was all locked up and no one would talk to me when I-"

"When?"

"Wednesday."

He rubbed between his eyes. "Damn Kaoru locked everything when he found out his in-laws were coming. The whole household hates them."

Her urge to keep her dignity in front of him was the only thing that kept her from falling to her knees in emotional exhaustion.

"Great," she breathed. "That's _fantastic._ Well... I needed a reason to go home early today. They tell me to go out with one twin and they send me the other one. Sorry to have wasted your time, _Mr. Hitachiin_. Smack your brother in the head for me, would ya?"

Hikaru stared at her. His forehead loosing the hard crease. "If you're going to put so much effort into saying it just forget it."

She adjusted her bag. "Say what?"

"My name. If you're going to say both names it defeats the whole purpose," he turned away, looking at the tiny, ridiculous items on his list. "So just forget about it."

Her shoulders lost so much tension that her bag almost slipped onto the floor. Her lashes fluttered as she watched him rip of his piece of paper into tiny pieces before he shoved the remains into his pocket.

"Oh..." she tried to hide her smile, "Okay."

He let out a breath, looking around, seeing no other purpose to be there. "...I'll murder them all. _Damn_ this pisses me off."

She snorted, looking behind her, looking for the escalator. "You didn't have to come."

"Neither did you."

She frowned. "I told you, I felt bad."

"Yeah, for my married brother."

"Your grandmother made me feel terrible, okay? She's good at that."

Averting his deathly glare from the floor to her, Hikaru then turned away, to a group of teenagers who were laughing too loudly, then turned back to her. His cheeks twitching.

"Fine," he declared, as though he was speaking to someone only he could hear. "I know what they're doing... I'm not going to go home looking stupid."

She shrugged, leaving him be. "Well I certainly am. See you around Hik-"

"Shut up," he demanded, acidly, reaching out for her wrist. "Knowing them they're probably watching. Do what I say."

Haruhi gasped as he made her stumble forward. "Hey! Wait a second- Hikaru, what are you doing?"

"Two can play at this game," he hissed under his breath, tugging her through people. "I'm sick of being played around with. Their schemes are on my last nerve. They tried too hard this time."

"But- Hey, hold on a minute- I don't have to be apart of this!"

"Damn right you do."

"This is your family. I don't-"

He stopped pulling her the moment they reached a corner, her jerked her forward and held her against the wall.

"They're keep doing this," he had to admit it, even if he didn't want to. "And our family's name has shrunk down quite a bit, so I don't really want to murder them, so do what I say."

"Well I think you're bossy," she nipped, "And I'm not going to do anything you say, simply because I just don't want to."

" _Well_ I don't know about you, but I'm not going on anymore dates with people I despise."

"I can leave right now. I've never been on a date with someone I despised before."

"You've probably never been on any date, period."

"I'm quite proud to say I haven't."

He grabbed her wrist again, looking around, avoiding her eyes. "If they want us to go on a date then we're going on it, so shut up and deal with it."

"But you don't even want to!"

"That's not the point!"

So there she stood, or -at least tried to stand- next to the man who was at the top of her "hit list" who just happened to be the most infuriating man to her on the planet, who was also the most confusing. One moment he wanted her to leave, then next, he was pulling at her wrists in a shopping mall, demanding a date.

She had never felt more drained in her life.

 _Mother in heaven... please help me._

* * *

 **Thank you for reading. :) Please Favorite and review. And any constructive criticism is very appreciated!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Enraged**

* * *

Haruhi fell against a wall, exhausted. "...What are we doing?"

Hikaru glanced over his shoulder, then turned to her once he didn't see anything. "Killing time, what do you think?"

"I'm starting to think you're less of a jerk and more of an idiot, that's what I think."

His face fell, and for a moment, he wasn't sure what he should say, so he just turned back around with a glare colder than stone. "Shut up."

It had been an hour since she had ran into him in the mall, and somehow had gotten stuck with him. They had been going around, looking at almost every store they came across and seemed to be stopping to breathe in every corner they came to.

The fact that they kept stopping in the corners was a mystery to Haruhi, but Hikaru was leading her everywhere, and she had seen stranger things of him so she ignored it.

Hikaru turned on his heel, before curling his arms over his torso and throwing himself against the wall opposite from her. "Dammit. He treats me like I'm his chess piece."

She breathed, standing up. "Is this about Kaoru again? Because if it is, why don't you just call him on his phone? I'm sure he'd answer."

"He won't answer for crap," he growled, turning when he thought he saw his brother, but it turned out to be just a woman with short hair. "I hope he's scared for his life. I'm about to hang him by my own hands."

"...Why? What did he do?"

"I already told you, idiot. He set us up."

"It doesn't look like he did. I mean we could both leave right now if we wanted to but you insist on taking me every-"

"I'm not leaving until I find out what he has here. He has a reason, why the hell would he have us both come here if there wasn't something that would make us stay here."

"But we _are_ staying here. Would it matter if we left now? Whatever he has planned wouldn't make a different if we were here would it?"

Hikaru inhaled slowly, trying to maintain what little patience he had left. "No. It wouldn't."

Haruhi shrugged, before pushing away from the wall. "You're the strangest man I've ever met. Like you have no idea what to do with yourself."

He turned, and she could see that he was offended, or just very angry. Or maybe he just looked that way on a regular basis.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He grumbled.

"Like you want to do something," she tried to explain, but it was hard, as she wasn't really sure what she was trying to explain, "but you don't want yourself to do it. I'm not sure... It's like you've disciplined yourself."

Hikaru hesitated, then shook his head dismissively. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"I wonder," she spoke, though it sounded like it was more to herself than to him. "...That if I tickled you... would you laugh?"

He looked around, and began walking. He turned to her when he heard her follow him, and smiled. "If you touch me, you're pull back a bloody nub."

She chuckled, snuggling into her hoodie. "When you're not paying attention I'll do it."

He tried to walk ahead of her. "What for? I'm pretty sure you thought of me as _scary_."

"It's because I think you're a robot," she answered plainly, and a fake smile covered her face as it did on his.

He sighed, trying to walk a little faster. "If only you knew..."

"...So can I?"

"No!"

Laughing, Haruhi caught up with him. No longer knowing why she was following him, but teasing and making fun of him was now becoming something she could get used to if it meant he'd open up a little more. And maybe she could find out what made him so _angry_ all the time.

"And besides..." she figured, walking beside him, looking forward towards the only few shops they hadn't walked by yet. "Even with your scary attitude I know you wouldn't hurt a fly."

He glared at her words, but he was facing elsewhere. "Oh? And you're so sure of that?"

"Kaoru seems sure of it."

He turned to her finally, almost hissing. "Kaoru doesn't know anything, and neither do you. Don't walk next to me and try to touch me like we're friends. You were my attorney for two months, and you're still nothing, and you shouldn't be anything to Kaoru either. He has what he needs already and it doesn't involve you, so stop raising his hopes up and making him happy he doesn't deserve it-"

He stopped, catching himself before he said anything else, and was shocked to hear just what had come out of his mouth. He looked at her, and her mouth hung open, and her eyes wide.

He clenched his jaw and turned around, expecting her to follow, but she didn't.

Where had something like that come from? He didn't know. Things had always come out when he was frustrated and confused, but not once had he mentioned his twin, or anything that had anything to do with him.

Haruhi stood as still as if her feet were planted to the tile. "What's wrong with you? What's Kaoru ever done to you bad enough for you to say things like that? He seems perfectly happy enough, so he doesn't need our permission."

His blood burned, and with his clenched fists tucked into his pockets he continued walking.

He heard her footsteps from far from him, and he walked a little faster into a crowd.

* * *

There Kaoru laid, sprawled across one of the long couches in the living room, with his hands folded beneath his head. He was alone, but he was entertained.

Hikaru hadn't returned yet from the mall and he hadn't gotten a call, or even a text message from Haruhi. He hadn't the slightest clue what they could be doing, as he had given up spying on his brother long ago, but if Hikaru had plenty of time to leave and wasn't back yet, maybe he and Haruhi made up and made out.

He stared at the ceiling, smirking. "If only..."

With his brother being twenty four with no love life, and him being twenty four with no love from the love of his life, it was becoming very hard to imagine babies anywhere in the future.

It was a real waste, he always thought, he would have made such a great uncle.

Of course, he always thought about having his own kids, but that wasn't something he wanted to think about. Because it was so impossible. Even if Mayuki started to love him again, she hates the curse with a passion and wouldn't seduce her own kids to it.

If they could break the curse maybe, but after centuries of refusing to break the curse or having any connections with the Nekozawa's, it was a lost cause.

Though with the way things were going now, the curse wouldn't have to be broken. After them, the Hitachiin name would be history, and the curse wouldn't exist without the name to hold it.

And Hikaru always thought that that was the best way to do It, and now, Kaoru was having a hard time disagreeing with him.

It would be better if no one ever lived with the curse again. Always on guard, scared that any day they could fall over dead, and having to hurt the person they loved most so they wouldn't.

He sunk his head deeper into the couch throw pillow. "Oh well..."

"You don't think your brother is old enough to make his own decisions now?"

Kaoru turned his head to the sound of his grandfather's voice. He was sitting in the corner with his tiny chess table, polishing the marble pieces. All the Hitachiin men always had that strange ability to neither be seen or heard. And there was multiple times where his grandfather could be sitting in the same room, and he would think he was upstairs asleep.

"Hikaru?" He muttered in disbelief. "Of course not. You've seen what he's gotten himself into. He's proven he's not mature enough to decide things anymore."

"Maybe its you who just doesn't understand his intentions," the elder man suggested harmlessly. "Maybe he knows what he's doing and understands the consequences."

"I know he does," the youngest groaned, turning over on the couch. "He knows full well what he's doing to himself, but he doesn't know what he's doing to me-... or, everyone else."

"That's true," his grandfather picked up another chess piece and began polishing it with his cloth. "But he might."

Kaoru sat up, glaring. "Well if he does then he doesn't care."

"Maybe he does care."

"If he cared he'd be trying harder to beat Fumiko, but he isn't. He's just letting himself... " He leaned against the cushions, "wilt away. And he doesn't care who he's hurting while he's doing it."

"Kaoru," the old man scratched at his whiskers. "You shouldn't think that way. Hikaru knows you can't beat the curse, and there's no use getting revenge for something that happened well before your time. Hikaru just wants to be done with it."

"But... he's giving up."

He shook his head again at his grandson, going back to fiddling with his game pieces. "Remiko was really important to him at one point, and he doesn't want the same thing as everyone else. He's seen what it does to some people."

Sometimes talking with their grandfather helped him, but this conversation wasn't going anywhere. Or at least nowhere where he wanted it to go. And from that last comment, he could tell he was referring to Mayuki.

"Don't think of it as giving up," he placed down a chess piece and turned it's angle. "The curse is hurting him, physically. I'm sure how you've noticed how limited he is now. He's in pain and he doesn't want to live with it anymore."

Kaoru had known this, but it was even harder to swallow when he'd hear it. Yes, his brother was fading, and he was letting him slip through his fingers. He couldn't imagine life without his brother, but there wasn't anything he could do. No doctor on earth could do the job as another one's blood could, and such things disgusted his brother, as it should.

"There has to be another way," Kaoru sat up straight, glowering at the tile, and his hazed reflection. "Falling for a Nekozawa... it's stupid. There has to be another way to break it."

His grandfather looked at him, but looked away again. "We only know what we've been told a long time ago. There was a young girl from the Neko-"

Kaoru waved his hand dismissively. "I know. She told us from their family's old journal history, but... maybe she lied. Their family is cursed too. Maybe that's only for them. A Hitachiin has to fall for a Nekozawa. After what Femiko did, the witch wanted the Nekozawa's to gain love again, and she wanted it to only involve our families."

He stood up, furious anger boiling his blood beneath his skin. "It as nothing to do with us at all. They wanted us to believe that so they'd be free. There must be something else then."

"Kaoru," his grandfather sighed, motioning his hand to tell him to sit back down. "Don't do this to yourself. There's secrets our ancestors couldn't figure out. Don't ignore what's going on now in this age. Focus on the problems now."

"Hikaru is a problem," he shot back defensively, yet his voice cracked in desperateness. "I know there isn't anything I can do about Mayuki, but a damn woman with a bunch of gibberish can't say anything that can't be changed. There has to be... _something_."

"There isn't-"

"We don't know that!" Kaoru hesitated, staring at his grandfather's solemn expression before throwing himself back on the couch. "It isn't fair. Hikaru doesn't want to... and he shouldn't have to choose between himself and someone else, when everyone else doesn't have to."

"You had to make that choice too, and do you regret it?"

"...Sometimes."

"Hikaru knows he won't regret anything, because he won't be here to think about it. You both had the option to choose your own paths. Now that Hikaru's decided, you'll just have to learn to accept it."

"What bothers me is that he _expects_ me to accept it."

His grandfather exhaled heavily, staring at the pieces he had cleaned with a frown, drowning in his own pain and sympathy. "There were plenty of our relatives who've have to make the same decision, and made the same sacrifice."

"Hikaru's path's a dead end," Kaoru stood up again, though more calmly. "And I don't want him ending up to be one of those relatives..."

"I know it's hard, Kao-"

His grandfather was interrupted by a door slamming open and a maid squealing in distress.

"Mr. Hitachiin!"

Kaoru turned just in time to see one of their maid's nearly collapse into the room. She clutched onto the wall, with her hair falling out of her bun. She looked around until she saw him.

"Mr. Hitachiin," she managed through a large huff, but she didn't stand up until his hands helped her. "They're here. There's two of them. I tried to tell them to leave but they wouldn't. They're in the hall. They said they have a warrant."

Kaoru held her hand and helped her to her feet. "Who has a warrant? The... police are here?"

She nodded, looking over her shoulder and her voice became just a little louder than a whisper. "I think they're looking for master Hikaru, but he isn't here."

Kaoru looked at his grandfather, but he looked unconcerned behind his glasses and bushy mustache. With a frown, he moved the maid out of his way and walked through the house to the entry hall.

He was sure there was nothing worse than police coming to the house asking for his brother, because the thought of Hikaru doing something so terrible it'd get him arrested, and thrown in jail for the last nine months of his life was what scared him the most.

But the words the maid said rolled over and over in his head and suddenly his fear became a reality. His forehead flared as all his blood rushed to his head and he felt as though he couldn't walk, or rather, refused to walk anymore.

He peaked around the corner, and while he tried to avoid being seen by the police officers but as he saw his grandmother speaking to them with a scowl and a bit of attitude that he went to her almost in a panic.

"If you're taking my grandson, you'll have to kill me and pry cold dead body away from him or take me too." Kazuha declared, standing in the way of the entrance to the living room.

"Ma'am," the larger police officer sighed. "We're not trying to use force, if he'd just come with us we'll be on our way."

"Well I said no."

"Well miss, it isn't up to you."

She gasped, as though genuinely offended. "Don't think you can come into my house and disrespect me young man. I'll have you know-"

The smaller police officer stepped up to her, calmly putting down her hand that held a small PVC pipe. The looks to be apart of one of her flower arrangements. With a little effort he managed to pry it away from her.

"Mrs. Hitachiin, please, we're not here to hurt anyone. Just calm down."

Somehow, out from behind her shirt, Kazuha pulled out another pipe, holding it out in front of her like sword. "Don't underestimate me. I may look old but I-"

"Grandmother stop it," Kaoru ran to her, holding her shoulders, ripping the pipe from her hands. "We're trying not to make them angry, so don't threatened them."

"I hardly think it's threatening," the officer in the back mumbled. He remembered the woman telling him that the family was insane, but he didn't think she actually meant it. "There's a warrant out for Mr. Hitachiin and we're not leaving until he speak with him."

Kaoru turned to them, his forehead creased in a frown. "Hikaru isn't here, and what's the warrant for? Does that warrant make it possible for you to come into the house without our permission?"

"It does actually.

"Idiot," Kazuha elbowed his arm. "You were supposed to say _you're_ Hikaru."

He glared. "What for? What's going on? There's three other 'Mr. Hitachiin's' in this house."

The short police officer pulled out a slip of paper from inside his jacket and it fell open as he held it into view. "A Miss Tsukino filed a report, for abuse, against Mr. Kaoru Hitachiin."

Kaoru's face fell the moment that name slip passed his lips. "Tsukino? But she's my-"

"What a witch."

"Grandmother, hush!"

"I see," He man pocketed the paper back into his jacket and looked to his partner. "She said there was identical twins in the house, and said to be careful not to mix them up, but I can see that won't be a problem."

Kaoru pulled both his hands close to his chest as the larger officer tried to grab his hands, as he could clearly see him reaching for the handcuffs that were hooked to his hip. Kazuha grabbed his hand and pulled him so hard backwards that he almost fell over.

"He hasn't done anything," She insisted, glowering.

"That isn't up for him to decide."

Without a second thought, or glance to the elder woman, the tall officer gripped Kaoru's slim wrist and pulled him forward again. Inside, Kazuha was enraged, but she stood back, just glaring from the side.

Kaoru winced as his hands were pulled behind his back. "I didn't do anything. My brother isn't here but he's the one with the traffic violations. I never-"

The officer struggled to open the handcuffs. "Mrs. Tsukino reported aggressive spousal abuse, we're only taking you to the station until Miss Mayuki Is permanently vacated from the premises."

He stopped, Ripping his hands away from the police officer. "Mayuki? No! I never touched her like that. Akira just doesn't like me, we aren't-"

Kaoru cut himself off with a gasp as he was slammed against the wall, with his hands brought behind him again.

"Who's your commanding officer?" Kazuha gasped, with her face red with anger. "Mayuki isn't even here, she's with her family."

"The report was made earlier this afternoon. Miss Mayuki's family hasn't see her in weeks."

"That's crap. She left here yesterday for her parent's house."

The officer pulled Kaoru back, with the handcuffs properly tightened around his soft pampered wrists. "That's not what the report states. Now excuse me ma'am-"

With the glare she was receiving Kazuha gave in and stepped aside, away from the front door. "If anything Kaoru's the least aggressive one in the house. You shouldn't be allowed to touch him without a lawyer."

The police ignored her and simply walked passed her, and before she could do so much as breath out again they headed out of the door, where their car waited, running in the driveway.

She flinched as the door was slammed shut. She turned to the living room where she saw her husband leaning against the wall, frowning at the situation.

She growled. "Where the hell is Mayuki?"

He shrugged. "Calm down dear, I'm sure it's all an honest mistake-"

"Honest mistake? What are you going to tell Yazuha?"

"...Must _I_ tell her? She might rip me to shreds for just being the messenger."

" _Exactly_."

Kazuha threw her hands up, leaving a small trail of loose flower petals on the ground, with a groan of frustration. Only wishing she hadn't have helped send Hikaru away.

* * *

Hikaru sat on a bench, breathing deeply, concentrating on the spoon in his hand. Though the yogurt in his hand was barely even picked at.

Haruhi sat across from him, stirring her frozen yogurt until it was just a little more than water.

They had argued, but they followed each other. They said they'd leave, but they never left. Now they sat together in silence, playing with their food. Both of them refusing to fix the awkwardness and talk to each other.

Hikaru looked up from his cup, but quickly looked away again when he noticed she was looking back at him. After a moment he realize he wasn't going to take another bite out of his slush so he tossed it into the trash beside him.

With her knees pressed tightly together, Haruhi tried to think of something to start a conversation, but everything that came up in her mind was a conversation starter for friends, and it would certainly end up making the air even more uncomfortable for them.

She stopped stirring her yogurt and continued to stare at his hair. Which was the deep auburn she had only seen in his old high school photos. It was a wonder how she didn't recognize him the instant she saw him. She hadn't seen anyone else with his and Kaoru's hair color. Yet the whole Hitachiin family seemed to have it.

Her foot scratched the floor, as her teeth bit so far into her bottom lip she almost tasted blood. "...Can we start over?"

Hikaru's gave turned to her, but as they made eye-contact she turned away and couldn't be looking further away from her. "How many times are you going to want to do that?"

"...As many times as it takes."

"I think you're asking for too much."

Her eyes rolled behind closed eyelids. "I don't want us to argue all the time. I'm tired of it," she scooted closer to him, holding out her hand. "Here."

He glared at her open palm. "What?"

She moved closer, scowling. "I'm Haruhi."

"Oh god no. _No_. Go back over there."

"Come on, shake my hand."

He crossed his arms, hiding his hands. "No. I know your name already. Go away."

She scoffed and moved so close their shoulders brushed. "Don't be like that. Give me your hand."

"I don't want to touch you."

She didn't listen, and instead she untangled his arms and grabbed his hand anyway, despite his discouragement, and his effort to pull away from her.

"See?" She slowly shook his hand, gently. Obviously amused. "It's okay. You don't have to be scared."

He looked away, grumbling. "I'm not scared."

Haruhi looked down at their hands. And for a moment she thought it was just the heat from their sweat palms making her hand so hot, but it was just him, and his fingers tightening around her hand.

A small dimple appeared in her cheek as she suppressed a smile. He was holding her hand willingly. "You don't have you leave your guard up all the time. I'm not gonna bite you."

 _What...?_

Suddenly Hikaru gasped, and ripped his hands from her hold. His skin flared, and he stood up, chanting something under his breath as he stepped away.

"No," he choked, half shouting. "No more. Just... Don't touch me."

Haruhi blinked, pulling her hand away as fast as he stood up. "What? What happened?"

He breathed from his mouth, clenching his jaw so tight he thought he might break his teeth. A tiny voice in his head shouted at him, telling him to run, to get away from everyone as fast as he could, but his legs wouldn't listen. He just backed away.

"No, you're not going to do this," he said, voice wrenching desperately. "Stay away from me."

Haruhi he stood up, but it was as though her foot stepped on a switch, because once she got just a step closer to him, he turned around, and started in a sprint. Probably guessing she'd follow him. And for a few steps she did, but she stopped when she lost sight of him.

"But..." she breathed, staring into the direction where he left.

Her heart nearly jumped out of her chest as a phone get off against the wooden bench. She turned to the noise and saw that it was coming from Hikaru's bag. He ran off before he knew he left it.

She collapsed beside it. "...What'd I say?"

* * *

 _This chapter sucks... so bad._

 _Now you're thinking, why did you post this chapter if you're sure it sucks? Well... I didn't want to. I didn't want this chapter to exists. But now it does. I'm loosing my ambition to write and I'm trying to get back in the groove and not drop this hobby completely. I apologize to anyone who has been waiting for updates. This one took awhile. But a big thank you to everyone who has been patient and nice about it. Now that this chapter is up, I can work extra hard on the next update, and I hope it's a lot better than this one._


	16. Chapter 16

**Save You**

* * *

 _Too far..._

Hikaru ran down the hall, pushing through stranger after stranger. His face was beat red, his hands damp with his sweat.

The mall was crisp with cold air, but his body was overworked. His heart thumped loudly in his ears, and tore a hole in his chest. His lungs ached, not being able to inhale anymore air.

He stopped running, falling against the railing of the second floor. He gasped, clutching his shirt, feeling his heart fluttering as furiously as humming bird wings. He coughed, leaning his head forward, trying to breathe, but no air would come in, as if his lungs had taken a break and stopped working.

His family, Kaoru mostly, always reminded him how fragile his body way. His heart was too weak to be put under so much stress. Blood couldn't flow through his veins as fast as it needed to.

His eyes went in and out of focus, and his body was failing to keep him up right, with both nausea and fatigue.

 _This is what dying feels like._

It wasn't until times like this that he remembered that he actually was going to die.

Maybe not now, and maybe not tomorrow.

He really didn't know when, but he was.

"Hikaru!"

breathless, he raised his head and looked around. She stood there, red-faced and as desperate for air as he was. Her chestnut hair was mussed from running, but she didn't say anything as she stepped up to him, thrusting his phone into his reach.

"Stop running away," Haruhi wheezed. "I can't-... I can't chase you around anymore. I'm too old for this."

He didn't say a word as he looked down at his phone in her small hand. She held it out to him until he took it.

She dropped her hand. "I don't know what I said... but you're being a little unfair."

He arched his brow, trying to swallow while also trying to breathe. "...Leave me alone."

She shook her head. "No, not until you answer my question."

Hikaru held onto the railing tighter. "About what?"

She stood up straight, swiping her bangs away from her eyes. She stared at him strangely, watching sweat trickle down his forehead.

"...Are you okay?"

He glared. "I'm fine." He stood up, but his fingers tightened around the rail even harder, turning his knuckles white.

For a moment, she thought he was going to leave again, but he didn't, he just turned away, with his phone loosely hanging onto his free hand.

He closed his eyes, then opened them again, but his vision refused to fix itself. It was becoming more blurry the more times he blinked, and he could practically feel his blood rush from his head.

He turned away from her gaze, holding his hand to his chest.

"Hikaru..." she said softly, "Can you answer me?"

He didn't answer.

"...Why do you keep running away?"

"Because you're a girl."

"Answer me truthfully."

He turned back to her, with his forehead creased into what seemed like a permanent frown. "Because... I don't like you."

"Why not?"

"Why... are you so... worried about it?"

"Because I don't want you to run away from me anymore. If I know, then I can fix it and you can stop running."

He didn't look angry, but he didn't look happy either. He looked confused. How did this keep happening to him? How was it that no matter what he'd say to a girl, no matter what he'd do to them, they just kept coming back to him?

Why did they have to be so stubborn?

It only made it harder.

"You can't fix it," he said, managing without breath. "It's just you."

"That's a lie. You've never met me before that day I came to your house, even then you were mad at me and you didn't even know who I was."

His vision clouded up almost completely. He couldn't make out her facial features, or the details in the floor. He lost feeling in his hand, now he just stood there, leaning on the railing for support.

"It's nothing," he spoke softly, as if his voice was leaving him. "You get too close. You... have to stay... away."

Haruhi gasped as his legs gave out from beneath him. His knees hit the floor and she went to him, but she didn't get close enough to catch him when he fell to the floor completely.

With her eyes and mouth wide open, she got down on her knees and touched his shoulder. Without any thought in her mind her hands explored until her fingertips reached his face, where his skin was flushed and glistened with perspiration.

Her hands trembled with shock, but she cupped his face.

She immediately called for help when she no longer felt him breathing.

* * *

Kaoru sat quietly by himself in the corner, occasionally looking up at all the men and woman who gave him disgusted looks. He pulled his feet under his chair in awkwardness to the silence and tried to ignore their judge mental stares.

His shoulder still ached from being pushed against the wall earlier that day, but luckily they relieved him from his handcuffs, while telling him just to sit there and wait until someone came to pick him up.

They asked him questions. Why did he do it? What did he have against his wife? What did he have against his in-laws? But he never answered them. He didn't do it, he didn't have anything against his wife, and he once had a great relationship with his in-laws.

He didn't commit a crime. Especially this one. How could his mother in-low even think he would? Mayuki wouldn't have given any impression that he'd hurt her.

They hated him ever since the curse may into effect with them. She left him, crying to her mother, confused and half covered in blood.

That was the last time any of them liked him.

He could tell his in-laws over and over that he didn't do anything wrong, but he didn't necessarily do anything to prove them wrong.

He shifted in his seat, purposely staring at the floor to avoid the look the officer was giving him. It was getting later in the afternoon but as he looked down at his watch and it was only five.

He sighed quietly, wondering what his brother was doing now.

"Hey," a soft voice spoke above him. "Get up, we're leaving."

His ears perked up like a cat at the familiar voice and he jumped up off his chair, unaware of the scowls he was receiving.

"Mayu," he breathed, frowning at his wife. "What're you..."

"Hurry up," she glared, her cheeks pink for whatever reason. "You've got some nerve doing something stupid like this, making me come get you."

He blinked a few times in between thoughts. "But... Akira-"

"I know."

"Where have you been?"

She looked up at him, still glaring as if he had actually done what everyone though he did. "You're going to ask me questions? You start fights with my parents again and I have to drive half an hour to come pick you up out of jail."

He gasped. "I was falsely accused. You know I wouldn't do anything like they said. Your mom didn't know where you were so she blamed me again for keeping you hostage."

Mayuki sighed, shaking her head as she turned away. "Whatever. I'm exhausted and you're driving."

"But May," he pouted, following her through the station. "You didn't answer me, where have you been? I haven't seen you in two days, your parents didn't know where you were... if you're gone for too long, you'll get sick."

She ignored him. When she tried to walk ahead of him he grabbed her hand and pulled her back, barely even out the door.

"Mayuki," he stopped walking, making her stubble. "I wouldn't hurt you."

"I know," she twisted her wrist out of his grasp, but she didn't get far. He grabbed her shoulders and spun her around, holding her firm in one spot.

"But you don't know," he argued, tilting her chin up until she looked at him. "I'm sorry, I won't do anything to make your parents mad anymore, but I'd never do anything like that. I need you to know that I'd never hurt you. No matter what."

Mayuki looked at him for a long time, blinking only once. "...I think you're forgetting about something."

His expression changed. His hands fell from her shoulders and he turned to the floor. "Why does it always have to come to that?"

She walked down the steps, listening to the faint sound of his footsteps behind her. "Am I supposed to act like it doesn't happen?"

"Why do we have to _talk_ about it?"

"We're not talking about it," she stared at the sidewalk as she walked to her car. "But you can't walk around claiming innocence that you're not entitled to."

"I know that," he whispered, "but if there's anything else to our relationship other then the curse, then I'd rather talk about that instead."

Reaching for the handle to the passenger door she threw it open, averting her eyes away from his immediately after they made contact.

Her teeth sunk deep into her lip. "It's going to be a pretty quiet ride home then."

It hurt, but he didn't say anything as he stepped into the drivers seat, seducing himself to that silent car ride.

* * *

" _Haru-hi chaan, please come out and plaaay_."

Two of the four men who stood in front of the door, grinned, holding their peace offerings out, waiting for a reply to their excessive use of the doorbell. They waited a few moments before ringing it again, only to patiently wait in the same place and not even get a peep from inside the apartment.

Kyouya took off his glasses, wiping his lens with a handkerchief he pulled from his pocket.

Once clean, he slipped them back on. "I told you we should have called, moron."

"Haruhi!" Tamaki knocked, "Come on out. We've got a whole day planned. It'll be fun, I promise."

There was no answer.

"Haruhi?" he pouted, knocking again. "Are you mad? Did we do something wrong?"

"Haru-chan," Huni piped up, holding a box to his chest. "We brought cake. It's your favorite. It has strawberries, do you still like strawberries?"

At that, there was a snap from the deadbolt, followed by the jingle of the chain lock and a click from the tiny flip lock. They stayed silent, and Huni slowly inched closer to his cousin.

Tamaki smiled bright as a shadow came from the darkly lit house. "Haruhi, there you are. The day isn't going to last forever, I thought we told you when we were-"

The shadow wasn't of his cute little Haruhi. The face appeared, and half of it was shadowed in unshaven hair and food crumbs. It grumbled, sounding close to a wild animal being woken up from their hibernation.

He screamed.

"Why are you causing so much racket outside my door so early in the morning? Do you know what time it is?"

Tamaki blinked, letting go of Kyouya's hand to get a better look. "Oh... It's just you, Ranka."

"Rude," the man huffed, opening the door wider. "I just woke up and didn't have the time to shave. What'd you want?"

He shook his head, chewing on his lips nervously. "Nothing, we were looking for Haruhi. And... it's a little late in the afternoon to be napping, isn't it?"

"You've got a problem with this?"

The blonde gasped. "Not at all, Ranka. You're ravishing, really!"

"Whatever," Ryoji scratched at his head, standing up taller. "Haruhi isn't here, she's been gone since this morning."

Kyouya sighed. "I knew we should have called ahead of time, but did you listen?"

"What a shame," Tamaki frowned, shoving his hands deep in his pockets. "Where did she go?"

"She said she went on a date," Ryoji began closing the door, until a foot found it's way between it and the doorframe.

"A date?" He whined, ignoring the man's annoyed grimace. "Where did she go? Who did she go with? Someone we know? Did she say how long she'd be gone?"

"What's it matter to you?" Ryoji rubbed under his nose, turning to the smaller blonde. "...Is that cake?"

Huni nodded, slowly holding it out to him. "...It's strawberry."

He snatched it away, opening the lid with a mouth watering grin. "...She went to the new mall with one of those Hitachiin's, can't really remember which one she said she was going to go see though... Is this pudding filled?"

Tamaki inhaled, barely making a sound through his shock. "The Hitachiin's? Hikaru and Kaoru? Why didn't you say something?" He. "Kyouya, set coordinates to the mall. There's no time to waste, Haruhi's in danger!"

Before he could get away, his shirt was grabbed and he was jerked backwards.

"I don't think so, pretty boy," Ryoji muttered in annoyance. "I know what you're doing, and you're not going to ruin my chances at getting my Haruhi into that family. Back off."

"Absolutely not," Tamaki wailed dramatically. "Ranka, you don't understand. I can't allow Haruhi to be corrupted by their evil ways. We have to save her."

Ryoji kept his eyes on the cake. "You're insane. If you want, you can stay here until she gets back, but you're going to leave her be."

Tamaki's mouth fluttered open and close in both disbelief and lack of proper words. He couldn't believe it. His Haruhi, his poor beloved daughter, was being seduced by the twins. The Hitachiin twins. The ones who nearly destroyed his club's reputation with their vulgar ways.

And now she was on a date with one of them? It wasn't right. In fact... it was asinine! How could this happen?

Before he could get another word of protesting out from his lips, Kyouya shoved his hand towards him, pushing him into the apartment.

"Move along idiot."

"B-... but Kyouya!"

"We'll wait for her here if you're so concerned."

Tamaki continued to mumble gibberish about his "daughter's" innocence, but his rambling went completely unnoticed.


	17. Chapter 17

**Don't Count**

* * *

Haruhi listened to the sounds that came from the machines. It was anything but quiet, with the doctors that came in and out of the room.

There was something, they told her, they didn't know what it was, but there was something. They had no word for it, it was something none of them had ever seen before.

The first doctor was already sending Hikaru's test results to a specialist who was in town. They didn't tell her what they were doing, and they even refused for her to be in the room with him after his examination if she hadn't have lied about their relationship.

She looked at him in the narrow hospital bed, not believing how happy the fog on his oxygen mask could make her. When he stopped breathing, so did her heart. One minute she wanted to just talk to him, she was going to leave him alone.

But then the next, she felt responsible for his life.

And felt an awful knot of guilt in her stomach. Maybe she shouldn't have aggravated him so much. It overworked him, and she was sure to get an earful from Kaoru about this when he finds out.

She slumped her cheek on her palm. "...I'm sorry. I didn't know you were sick."

"Unplug the monitor."

She held her breath, biting her tongue. Not expecting him to respond. "W...what?"

With his eyes close, Hikaru ripped the Velcro from the oxygen mask and took a breath on his own.

"Unplug the heart monitor," he groaned.

She shot out of her chair, laying her hand on his that was strapped to machines. "Are you okay? Does your head hurt? You hit the floor really hard, should I call in a nurse?"

His free hand came up, gripping the collar of her shirt. She gasped as their faces came inches apart. "I said... unplug the monitor." His angry eyes pierced into her daggers.

He blinked, before looking down in wonder. "...Where are my clothes?"

Haruhi released his hold on her shirt and stood up. "You collapsed. You're at the hospital. And... you're wearing a hospital gown."

His eyes darkened. "...You brought me to the _hospital_?"

"You stopped breathing, what was I supposed to do?" she glared, obviously he'd find some reason to be mad at her. "The doctors said that if I waited any longer you wouldn't have made it."

"The doctors don't know anything," he growled, feeling pain in his arm once he tried to move it. There was an IV tapped to the crook of his arm, stabbed into his vein. "They ran tests..."

She nodded. "Just a blood test. They want to run a cat scan later, and they called a specialist."

"So they know."

"They know you're sick. They found something in you bloodstream, they think that's what caused the problems."

"But they don't know what it is."

"No," Haruhi watched his hand fiddle with the tape on his arm. "But... I think you might know something."

He said nothing. He pulled at the tape, biting the inside of his cheek as he pulled the needle out from his skin and threw it on the floor. He sat up, waiting for the feeling to return to his legs.

She was too shocked to speak, she gasped as liquid formed a puddle on the tile from the intravenous bag above his head. She stepped back as he ripped off the other IV in his hand.

"Stop," she managed, looking at the beeping machines. "Stop! What're you doing? You need those. The doctor's said-"

He turned to her, holding his sore hand. "Are you going to help or not?

"No! N...no, I'm not going to help you." She picked up the needle, not knowing what to do with it. "I don't care if you don't like it, if you don't like people touching you, or people helping you, or people even talking to you. You only want to leave because I brought you here and you just want to prove you're right and I'm not, so you're going to leave."

"But you're not, lay back down and put those things back in," she was red in the face, "I don't know what your problem is, but something is very wrong with you so shut up and for once, do what someone else says."

Hikaru stared at her in absolute blankness. His mouth was still open from when he tried to interrupt her. His eyes darted from the places the needles stuck into, but his gaze just went back to, Haruhi.

It had been awhile since the last time anyone yelled at him and told him what to do. He almost wasn't sure what to do. His grandparents always left him to his own business and wouldn't bother, his parents sympathized him so they always let him do whatever he wanted. Kaoru wouldn't even bother to tell him what to do, because he knew he wouldn't listen to him anyway.

He paused. "...No."

"What Is it with you?" She shoved her hands into her hair, looking like she'd pull some of it out. "You're sick, can't you swallow some of that pride for that? I don't want to be responsible for you getting hurt again."

He looked away. "I didn't... get hurt."

She shook her head, falling into her chair. "I can't let you leave. The doctors are worried about you, they don't have a name for what you have, so... why can't you just stay here and let them help you?"

Hikaru threw the blanket off himself but he stopped, as he was still attached to the heart rate monitor. "there isn't a cure, so they can't help. It was a mistake coming here, they're only going to make it worse."

He glared. "Now hand me my clothes."

"No. I can't let you leave."

"You don't get an opinion."

"You're scared of hospitals, is that it?" her voice hitched, catching his attention. "You're scared of needles. You act like you've been here before, you didn't like it or something... Why don't you want to stay?"

"It's not that I don't want to, it's that I _can't,_ " he said, trying fruitlessly to hide desperateness in his tone. "Now, are you going to help the weak and injured man, or does he have to do it himself?"

"No," she repeated. "You have to stay here. You're sick and you're not leaving until you get better."

Hikaru was about to give another excuse as to why he couldn't, but he hear sounds coming from behind the door, and he looked back at her. "I can't stay here, they'll deem me crazy and zip-tie me to the bed, they'll make me more sick than I already am."

"I don't understand. That's the completely opposite from what-"

"I'll explain later, just do this for me."

She contemplated it for a moment, she turned around where his clothes were laying but she stopped.

"You want me to do this for you? And for what?" she muttered. "For all the things you've done for me? Do you always try to take advantage of people you treat like dirt?"

"I didn't treat you like dirt."

"Right, telling me I'm not important, or that I don't deserve to even be around you isn't mean. What do you call it?"

"From my perspective it isn't considered an insult."

"I don't care what it is, I'm not helping you. If you want to leave, fine, but I'm not going to be apart of it."

"I don't need your help," he swung his legs over the edge of the bed, his feet touched the floor and he stood up, but it was a movement he wasn't prepared for and he fell forward. He would have landed on his face had it not been for the pair of arms that kept him upright.

"Fine," Haruhi breathed, straining against his weight, "fine, I'll do it."

He gripped her sleeves, trying to hold himself up. "Unplug the monitor."

She let him stand by himself as she reached over near the wall, where she unplugged the giant bundle of cords from the out-lit. It was more than she meant to, but she threw them to the floor and grabbed his hand, afraid he'd fall down again.

Hikaru ripped the patch from his chest and watched the footsteps under the door, but before he even acted on his own, his clothes were throw into his arms.

He looked at her in wonder. "You're actually-"

Haruhi glared, pointing to the changing room. "If my career is jeopardized because of this, I'll hold you responsible."

"Fair enough."

* * *

Mayuki said what she wanted to the man at the counter and watched as he descended around the corner.

She had Kaoru drive her home, but the very moment he left her alone to try and call his brother again, she left for the drugstore. She had been on her way there before she got a call from her grandmother-in-law to go and pick him up from the station.

She looked over her shoulder, wondering if anyone was looking at her, then turned back around when no one was. She tapped her foot, leaning against the counter. She awkwardly looked at her watch, even if she knew the time.

The sun was fading, and it had already been two days. She was getting sick again and she felt it. Her migraine was tearing everything behind her eyes, she could barely hold herself up, and was unfortunate enough to have lived through traffic, as she had no energy left in her to press the peddle down in her car.

He'd do it soon, and there was no way out of it.

Her head turned to the sound of voices close to her. There was a couple just an aisle away from her. A small baby was strapped to the torso of the young woman. It tried reaching for something on the shelf and whined when it was taken out of his hand.

Another voice appeared in her other ear, but she didn't process it until they had to speak again, a little louder.

"Here," the man behind the desk said, sliding a small paper bag to her. "Any reason why you need to carry this much aspirin with you?"

Mayuki took the bag and rolled it up tight before shoving it into her purse. "Any reason why I shouldn't?"

"...It's just odd to have this much. It doesn't work as well as other pain relievers either."

With no emotion, she pulled out a check, and wrote it out. "It works enough."

She gave one more look towards the couple and their baby before she left.

 _It works plenty._

* * *

"I have done some crazy shit in the Host Club, but this pretty much takes the cake." Haruhi hissed in his ear, through the thin blanket draped over his head. "Just so you know, not once have I ever helped any of my friends escape a hospital. I've visited them while they were in one, but not once had they ever asked me to help them leave it."

Hikaru ignored that comment and looked around the hospital, watching the feet of the staff. He had swallowed his pride awhile ago, and didn't hesitate to jump into a wheelchair.

His first idea was to hold a doctor hostage and take his clothes and innocently walk out of the hospital. But Haruhi was strongly against that (especially since she had a feeling he wasn't kidding) and he _physically_ couldn't walk out of anywhere.

She knew he wasn't going to say anything unless spoken to so she tried to intervene in his thoughts.

"So," she began hesitantly. "About you explaining it later..."

He growled. "Does this look like later to you?"

"I just thoughts I'd know the reason why I'm helping a sick man leave the hospital. Any logical person would tell you that it would be a good idea for you to stay here."

"Are you saying that those friends of yours are logical? Cause you obviously haven't been around actual logical beings before."

"Logical when it comes to important things like this, rational, maybe not, but it isn't about my friends, it's about you. You're the one who's sick, and right now and until your brother finds out, I'm responsible for you."

"Responsible for me," he scoffed, "You're no more responsible for me, than you are to that stranger in the corner. Don't give yourself too much credit."

"I could push you into the elevator alone and walk away right now."

"Yeah," he answered quietly, "you could, but you'd feel guilty and come back."

She frowned. "Probably." she walked a few more steps before stopping. "And why would you think that? I could toss you down a flight stairs and not blink an eye as I walk away. You don't know."

Hikaru shrugged. "Lets test it then. I always wanted to ride down the stairs in a wheelchair."

"You're insane."

"Wouldn't be the dumbest thing I've done."

"You'd break your neck."

"Good thing we're already at the hospital."

She rolled her eyes, quietly pushing passed a group of people in the hall. "...I know what you did. You keep distracting me, just answer my question."

He pulled the blanket further over his head. "I have nothing to say to you."

Her voice lowered to almost a whisper. "...How sick are you?"

"Very sick," he said faster than he meant to. "I'm sick of the hospital, I'm sick of that ugly old guy, I'm sick of you-"

"I was being serious," Haruhi tried to avoid eye contact with a nurse who was staring at them. "Am I committing a really bad crime for taking a really sick person from here?"

"No one will know if you don't say anything."

"Can I know how you magically came back from the dead?" She said as she pushed him into the elevator. Luckily it was empty.

"I'm magical."

"Like, a magician? That might make sense. The fact you have no reflection is just an illusion."

Hikaru curled his nose in confusion, but he didn't argue. "How do you think I..."

He could have continued, but a loud beep from the speakerphone stopped him. The blanket fell from his head, as he looked up.

" **Attention** ," A woman's voice came from the speakers, " **Code white, I repeat, Code white, patient 436 is non present, patient 436 is non present. Security is to surround the perimeter. Patient is in critical condition and is advised to return back to their room. I repeat, security is to surround the perimeter."**

Another beep cut off the voice and the elevator became deathly quiet.

"A code," Hikaru cursed. "They have a _damn_ code for it."

Haruhi whined. "I'm going to prison."

"Or worse, we could be sent back to the room."

She gripped the handles of the wheelchair. "You seriously need to get your priorities straight."

Hikaru ignored her yet again and looked back up at the speakers, scowling from under the blanket looking like an angry old man. "Any ideas?"

"Non that you would agree with."

The elevator doors began to slide open and he quickly threw the blanket back over his head. Haruhi jumped at the alerting _bing_ it made and felt two sizes smaller once she aw how many people were looking at them once the door opened.

"I hate you for this," she hissed in his ear. "I hate you so much."

He huffed. "We wouldn't be in this mess had you just left me alone and not brought me here against my will."

"You were unconscious, you didn't have a will."

They were both silent after that, not speaking another word to each other as they entered the lobby. Haruhi's footsteps and the turning wheels of the chair echoed in her ears, even if the lobby was loud, full of anxious bustling nurses and patients. She walked slower as she looked at all the security guards pacing around the outer walls and doors.

The two of them kept quiet until they weren't paying attention and nearly ran into a nurse, who's hands were full.

"Excuse me miss," she said sternly. "Due to code, all patients are addressed to stay in their rooms. There will be no discharging until the problem is dissolved-"

"I see..." Haruhi turned the chair, trying to get passed her. But the nurse grabbed onto the handle, accidentally brushing up against Hikaru's hand.

The nurse frowned. "I cannot let you leave, I apologize for the inconvin- Ow!"

Hikaru slapped her hand.

Haruhi slapped his hand back. "I'm sorry, He... my, _boyfriend_ , is... cranky." her voice stalled. "I should take him home."

He cringed at 'boyfriend', but didn't say anything.

Holding her hand, appalled she was actually slapped, the nurse looked down at Hikaru, looking at his clenched fists, but her gaze followed up his wrist, were his hospital bracelet rested. Along with his room number.

"436," she muttered, standing still as they tried to walk off again, "patient 436... Ah! Miss! Er... sir! Stop!"

Hikaru gasped. "Shit, walk faster!"

Haruhi looked over her shoulder at the nurse who started running after them. "Eh, but-... Ah!" She almost tripped over her own feet as Hikaru took control of the wheels and started moving for them. She had no other choice but to run to keep up with the chair.

"Sir! Security, stop those two!"

Two of the security guards turned to them and they stopped immediately, not having anywhere else to go. The blanket had long ago fallen off his head, so his face, along with his very well known family name will most likely be around everywhere now.

A doctor, one of the ones that had ran the tests on Hikaru earlier began to walk up to them, covered in sweat and looking a little frustrated that one of his patients had escaped (while also leaving the hospital room a mess of a sliced blood bad and IV fluid).

"Forget this," Hikaru threw the blanket on the floor and stood up. He ripped the chair out of Haruhi's hands and kicked it forward. It didn't go far before it rolled and bumped into the nearest wall.

Haruhi stumbled forward but before she could collect her footing, Hikaru grabbed her hand and she spun around, being tugged the opposite direction of the ones chasing them.

"No, no, no," she tried to speak out to him as she tried to pull her hand away. "I'm not doing this, let go. if they catch us, I'll get-"

" _if_ we get caught," he pulled her around the corner, looking for another door. "Thanks to them, they have my blood samples. Grandmother is going to kill me."

"Why are you walking?" she looked down, and indeed, not only was he walking, he was running and pulling her along. "I pushed you this whole way, and you could _walk?_ "

"About halfway through I realized I didn't need you."

"You're such an-"

"Does this look like a time to start name-calling?" he growled and pushed open a random door, leading them to another hallway. "We have to go back and make sure they're not collecting those samples and keeping them."

"It's just blood, let it go. If you go back, you'll be put back in your room, and they'll arrest _me_ for trying to kidnap a patient!"

"They can't have my blood." He said firmly, pushing her in first into another room. "Even if they don't have me, they'll want to run tests on it to find out what wrong with it."

Haruhi looked around in the room they were in now, but it was just filled with more optional doors to run into.

"So... what _is_ wrong with it?"

He didn't answer her and just pulled her into another room. It was empty and quiet, he took her out of the room and ran down the hallway again as soon as they heard the rushing footsteps of security.

"Crap, there's no time, they'll strap me to the bed for leaving the first time," he tried to run faster, but the out-of-shape brunette behind him slowed him down. He drug her down around another corner, making them run a half circle around the lobby. "We just have to make sure the press doesn't get ahold of all this."

"Right, that might ruin your reputation. Famous fashion designer escapes from hospital in critical condition. The paparazzi will go wild. From my knowledge, people in critical condition can't even _sit up_ straight, but not you. You run half around the hospital, only concerned that they're going to touch your DNA-"

He suddenly stopped, causing her to run into his back.

She stepped back and rubbed her nose. "What?"

"Shh..."

She turned around. "I don't hear anything."

The door beside them busted open. The same two guards stood there, a mere three feet from them.

"There they are!"

The two guilty ones screamed, only to run back the way they just came, stumbling over their own feet, trying to get away.

"This is all your fault," Haruhi managed to gasp, taking a sharp turn into another room. "Had you just told me you were sick before you started running away, and told me you don't like hospitals, I wouldn't have brought you here!"

"What difference would that have made?" he growled back, grabbing her hand, taking her through another door, which led them to another familiar hallway. "It's not like I like making a scene. I wouldn't have known I was going to pass-out!"

"Oh, well you know, I just figured with your attitude towards it, that you've been to the hospital before!"

"I've never been to one my entire life! Why do you think I don't like it?"

Hikaru slammed into a large door, being lead right into the lobby again, only this time, on the other side of it. His eyes fell on the main door, and with his hand still enclosed around Haruhi's, he made a grave sprit for it. He heard the people behind them yell for them, making everyone in the lobby aware that they were there again.

It was crowded, and he had to push passed a few innocent people to get out of sight of the security guards, and the moment his foot touched the mat, the sliding door opened, but they didn't give it time, as they slipped right passed it before it opened fully.

Once they were outside, they hit another corner of the sidewalk, heading behind the hospital where the parking lot was.

Unfortunately, their terrific exit was ruined, as the corner of the sidewalk was steep and crooked. They tripped over an eroded block of concrete and fell into the bushes.

In a bundle of arms and legs, the rolled over the hedge, landing hard on the ground on the other side, and to his disadvantage, Hikaru ended up on the bottom.

Through irony, they broke out in breathless laughter. Though it barely even sounded like laughs at all, but they were smiling.

Haruhi's smile didn't last as long, as she was too busy just staring at him, smiling and trying to catch his breath. Then her smile came back.

She was never going to figure him out...

It took Hikaru only a second to realize that he was laying, pressed down on her on the ground. He was weak from running, and out of breath, so he didn't move, and only her warm breath touch his face.

What was the electric shock he felt? Why was his heart throbbing? What caused his blood to be set to instant boil? And why was his fingers aching? He blamed it on the virus. It was effecting his body.

Surely it was pure male hormones for being the only reason why he wanted to touch her.

"We uh..." he breathed. "We won't... tell anyone about this."

She just shook her head in agreement. "I'll... pretend it never happened."

"I meant this."

His hand that was once supporting him, moved to her face and tilted her chin enough to make her gaze level with his own. She froze as he kissed her lips. They were only connected for a moment before he started pulling away, until she grabbed his face and forced his mouth back down on hers, holding him still so he couldn't pull away.

Her reacting to his kiss at all made him panic a little inside and forced himself to pull back. Breathless again for a whole other reason.

A spark of electricity surged through them after the contact, but it was very tiny, and barely noticeable. And it passed over the both of them like unimportant background music, while the main chorus was wedged into the very little space between them, booming loudly, and very noticeable.

Hikaru blinked, still holding her face. "That..."

Haruhi laid still, just as speechless. "Sometimes people say that... you can feel something when you... but... I didn't think you could _actually_ feel something."

"...Did it hurt?"

"Kinda."

"I don't know what it was."

"Neither do I."

The sun had long ago faded, and they laid there, in the dark, their features barely noticeable to the other. Not even two seconds passed before Hikaru pulled her face back, kissing her again.

He wasn't even going to begin to count the mistakes he made and was going to make that night.


	18. Chapter 18

**My Guilty Pleasure**

* * *

There was a time when he didn't know about the curse, but when it was broke to him, he was obsessed with it. It had taken over his life. It limited him from doing things he wanted to do, it made him push away people he loved and ones he called his friends.

A day didn't go by that he didn't think about the curse at least once. Especially if he was put in situations where he'd meet people who wouldn't understand it as he did. When he'd meet " _outsiders_ ".

But it wasn't like that now.

He thought about the curse, and the horror of doctors finding the virus in his blood, but it was if the curse didn't exist the moment he jumped out of the wheelchair and ran laps around the hospital with her, trying to escape security.

The kiss happened during the heat of the moment. He knew what he was doing, he meant to kiss her. He wasn't concerned about the virus, or her. He knew what it was like to kiss someone, and at that moment, he had to feel it. Just didn't plan on feeling so much of it.

Whether it was from romantic feelings or not, the "heated moment" lasted a lot longer than he anticipated, and before they started paying attention to what they were doing, the back door to Haruhi's car was flung open, and they deliberately engulfed each other in the other one. Being too immersed in kissing and keeping them close to care about anything else.

Their foreheads bumped together as they fell against the backseat. The space was limited in Haruhi's tiny car, but that didn't get in their way, it just gave them another excuse to stay closer.

Hikaru's hands roamed placed he knew he shouldn't touch, from the small of her back when he picked her up, up her sides under her shirt, over her arms. She held his face, kissing every inch of his face from his cheekbones down.

They barely breathed, taking in just a little between the time they pulled away, only having to hold it again when their lips opened as a passage for their tongues.

His hand, moving further south, trailed across her warm neck, touching her bare shoulder until he had to unbutton her shirt to keep moving. He felt her shiver beneath him, but his mind was blank. No thoughts, good or bad, ran anywhere.

It was just, kiss, after kiss. The electricity that surged through his blood was intoxicating, and almost pleasurable. He didn't want to pull away.

Her hands teased his hair, holding handfuls that entangled around her fingers.

It was when her fingers grazed the small hairs on the back of his neck Hikaru froze. He looked down at her, her shirt was disheveled, with her hair in a tangled mess.

Her hands pressed against his chest, stopping him from moving anymore. He panted, meeting her gaze. When their eyes met he realized how wrong he was, and a twinge of regret curled at the pit of his stomach.

"I..." his throat clenched.

Haruhi cupped his face, her own cheeks blushing red. "We... probably shouldn't."

They looked at each other for a long time, listening to the slight shower of rain that patted the roof of the car. Nothing else was said between them as Hikaru climbed off of her, both getting caught between the bundle of limbs.

She fixed her shirt, as he fixed his hair. He cursed himself for being so stupid. Of course he couldn't touch her. He couldn't like her, and certainly shouldn't even be around her.

He stopped. Wait.. he thought, of course he couldn't like her, he didn't like her in the first place.

It was buried temptation. That's all it was.

Temptation for someone he let go a long time ago. It was just... coming back.

He could lust after Haruhi, or the mail woman and it wouldn't mean anything. It was just... old feelings.

That's all it was.

Right?

Hikaru glared. Why was he questioning himself? He knew what he wanted. He couldn't be around any woman, whether it be for lascivious feelings or not. Being with someone. It was... _forbidden_. As he always told himself

They moved to the front seats, already wet from the rain. Haruhi looked at him through her bangs, but his attention was averted to the window. She watched his fists clench around the steering wheel and she sunk into her seat timorously.

She was embarrassed, so much so her shoulders tinted pink. She's never visibly showed this much affection towards anyone before. She had never been in a relationship before, never had anyone she thought she should touch in that way. Not until now. Not until Hikaru, who was a little more than just a stranger to her.

Why did she kiss him? Why did she let him touch her? This whole time, she just wanted to get to know him, to make friends with him, rather than just be two people with a bitter start, but she didn't think she'd go this far.

Her lips tweaked into a smile that was so noticeable she covered it with her hand. Her cheeks twitched and she covered her whole face, not being able to contain it.

His touch, his lips. They were... so _soft_.

Her thoughts caused her to become even more red. At this point she wouldn't be surprised if her toes even changed colors.

Hikaru glanced at her, but quickly looked away when he saw her covering her face, with her shoulders trembling.

He grabbed the key from her open bag, and shoved it into the ignition, and only got as far as turning the engine on when he stopped at the sound of her laughter.

He turned back to her, with a glare. "Shut up."

What was just a chuckle turned into a full laugh, and it turned hysterical.

He looked forward, clutching the steering wheel. "It's not funny."

"You just..." she barely managed to speak. "Oh my god." She continued to laugh.

His frown dissolved into a straight line. "Stop it."

Haruhi covered her mouth, chuckling behind her fingertips. "I can see that you tried so hard."

"What?"

"When was the last time _you_ kissed someone?"

"What is _that_ supposed to mean?"

"Nothing," seeing his perturbed frown made her laugh again, but biting her lip kept her from doing so. "It's just... You get really touchy. Been awhile?"

She was teasing, yes, and maybe if she went to far he might forget all about her and jump out of the car right now just so he wouldn't have to deal with her, but the crimson river that flooded his face from embarrassment was all worth it.

He gasped as she started laughing again at his inability to reply. His eyes bore holes into the horn on the steering wheel. Of course it's been awhile, what did she think? What other reason would he have for touching her? Simply untamed manly desires.

Those manly emotions just happened to have taken over his brain.

And his hands.

And everything else he owned.

Which was bad.

Very bad.

"It hasn't... been awhile," he lied, grumbling.

She giggled.

"Stop it!"

"Was that your first kiss?"

"No!" Hikaru put his hand out, pushing her away as she seemed to be easing closer to him. "And stay on your side. No more touching."

Haruhi started to pull at her seat belt, still with a torturing grin on her face. "Are you afraid I'll give you _cooties_?"

He listened to the weak roar the engine made as he started it. "No."

"You're afraid you might want to kiss again."

He turned to her, his brow tied in a knot of irritation. "If you don't shut up about it, I _will_."

The car suddenly became deathly silent, and only a blind man wouldn't be able to see the look of shock on both their faces, their visible embarrassment was only the topping to the cake.

His insides screamed at him. She was not his ex girlfriend, this was not college. Why was he treating it so? Why was he getting so ahead of himself? He never, not since that last time three years ago, publically showed any interest in girls. Especially, Haruhi.

"Well..." She was the first to speak up again. "...I don't really feel like it now, maybe later."

"Dammit, you're laughing again. You're doing this on purpose!"

"You get very loud when you're embarrassed."

"I am _not_ embarrassed. Stop talking."

"Maybe I should try tickling him now," she said out loud, reaching a hand out to him. Hikaru hear her and noticed. Only to slam his foot down on the pedal without paying attention, causing the car to speed backwards, straight into another parked car.

They jerked forward, and their mouths fell open in sync at the sound of metal crunching behind them.

Hikaru cringed, face still red. "I'm not paying for that."

"..."

* * *

Kaoru stared outside into their courtyard, biting his lip. He watched the rain fall, absentmindedly counting the raindrops that descended down the sill.

His brother was nowhere to be found, and it was getting dark. Too dark. It was growing past midnight as he hadn't received not one phone call or text message from his twin. Maybe he was angry at him after finding out he had set him up on an unwanted lunch date. Or maybe he didn't know, and just thought it was a pure coincidence that they bumped into each other.

Or maybe they didn't meet up at all, but then why hadn't Hikaru come back yet?

Did his brother take his medication for his blood pressure? In his condition he never could help but worry. He hated taking it regardless, but getting him to down it when he was having one of his fits was near to impossible.

"Maybe he got stuck in the rain," he thought out loud. "Maybe he's at the office, or got a hotel room."

His leaned his forehead against the wall as his hand slipped through his hair and touched his neck. The purple, scared, skin was rough against his fingertips. Then it began to burn. And it burned against his touch as if he was gripping hot coal.

His heart rate raised. He leaned forward, clutching the curtains. Something was wrong. So very wrong.

Kaoru almost collapsed from the sudden pain in his chest, caused by his heart practically bruising his ribs.

He grew a fever instantly. His entire body became engulfed in a heated blaze, and for a moment, he lost his vision.

He looked around. He was alone in his second room, and everyone was most likely asleep. Except maybe one.

"May," he whispered in horror.

Ignoring every pain in his body he tore out of the room, not bothering to be very quiet. He almost slipped on the polished floor as he cut a sharp turn, but he had lost all sense, and the little voice in his head that was telling him not to run was muffled by the louder voices that screamed at him behind his eyes.

Unlike it always was, the door to his wife's second room was unlocked. He threw it open but it was pitch black. He turned the light on but the room was empty. Her bed was made and everything was freshly cleaned by the maids who had been in there earlier.

He put his hand to his chest, trying to regain air that he was slowly losing and having a hard time keeping. She wasn't there, so maybe she left for her parents house earlier when he wasn't looking.

If it was that then it was a lost cause. She wasn't hurt if she was with them, so obviously it was just him. He turned the light back off, prepared to turn back around to go back to his room, until the light from the bathroom leaked from beneath the door.

He turned the light back on and went on. It was partly open, but no sounds came from it.

"Mayu?" he said softly. He normally wasn't allowed in her room. The last time he was, the door was slammed heavily in his face.

There was water on the floor, but not much. His mouth fell open at the sight at the shattered glass on the floor, and a mere two feet from the mess, his wife laid, motionless on the floor.

"Mayuki!" He didn't avoid the glass, his knees hit the floor the moment something round under his shoe caused him to slip. He gathered her limply in his arms. Having his heart pound, now from something totally different.

His hand pushed her hair from her pale face, delicately caressing her cheek. She didn't even flinch.

He brought her impossibly closer, pressing her hard against his collarbone, so hard so he thought he might crush her.

Her breathing was slight, and he held her hand as if that would make her cooperate and breathe the way she was supposed to. He looked up, his eyes searching for - He didn't know what-, but whatever there could have been there, wasn't. Until he looked at what he had fell over just moments ago.

He picked up the tiny pill bottle, but when he shook it, it made no sound. It was empty.

Her mark singed his hand that he pulled away. Something was hurting her, and his mark was making sure he knew that.

He stared at the bottles of asprin piled on the counter and abruptly the bottle he held against the wall.

He was stupid to think she wouldn't try this again.

* * *

Hikaru sat beside Haruhi in the car. The back bumper was busted, but neither of them spoke about it. He had mentioned that if she was ever going to send him a bill for it, that she was going to put it in Kaoru's name, but she never replied.

There was something off about where they were going that kept bringing Haruhi to look out the window in confusion. The fact that they had been driving for over an hour and were nowhere close to either of their homes was perturbing.

She looked out the side window, glaring at the substantially large amount of trees.

"We're lost." She figured.

"We're not lost." He stated plainly. "Stop distracting me."

"It's because you took that wrong turn back there and didn't take a U-turn at that intersection. _We're lost_."

Hikaru rolled his eyes. "What self-respecting car doesn't have a proper navigational system?"

"Cars that are owned by people who can't afford it."

"Then this is your fault."

Haruhi huffed. "It's my fault we're lost because I don't make enough money? You're terrible."

He threw his finger towards her, while still looking through the messy windshield. "You're a terrible backseat driver."

"So we _are_ lost?"

" _Yes_. We're lost."

Haruhi frowned. She turned around to look through the back window, the only lights that were visible was the back lights of her car, and in front there was only the headlights. They were alone on the open road, and with the rain coming down so hard, it sounded like a thousand tiny pebbles being thrown down on the hood, she was anxious.

"Maybe we should stop somewhere," she suggested. "It's getting late. We can just pull up into the next town."

He turned to her, briefly, before looking away. "I'm not asking for directions if that's what you're wondering."

"I was implying we stop at a motel-"

The car didn't stop, but it did slow down a bit as he turned to her, utterly horrified.

"No," he blurted out immediately. "No. We're not doing that."

Haruhi tilted a little to see the time the car showed. "It's one in the morning, how long do you plan on-"

"We're not getting out of this car," he declared. "I will not degrade myself in stopping in one of your commoner hotel rooms just so you can try to seduce me. It's not happing chika."

The red returned to her face and she slammed her fists into her lap in embarrassment. "Who said anything about seducing anyone? That-... that's not what I was-"

"It doesn't matter. You're going to keep your hands to yourself, so we don't have a repeat of what you did to me earlier."

"What _I_ did to you? You touched _me_ first. I distinctly remember you not even asking for permission."

He scoffed. "For one, in those situations I would've asked for your permission, if I wanted to be in that situation anyway, so I already _know_ you're lying. Secondly, it's your fault for keeping someone from detaining their personal, manly desires. Don't turn it on me."

"...You're _what_?"

"Ugh! Nothing. Stop talking!"

"You're the one who was-" she stopped, to look where he wasn't. Which was the road. "Hika, watch it!"

He looked up, and was about to tell her to leave him alone, but his eyes were met with the bright lights of another car, coming down the same lane they drove in. Somehow, while arguing, he moved into the other lane, which was meant for drivers heading in the other direction.

The coming car barely scratched the side mirror before Hikaru swerved their car across the wet pavement. He turned the wheel too far to the right, sending the entire vehicle skirting on it's side towards the edge of the road. Where it then tipped to the side way too much and sent them rolling down the small hill. Only stopping when the passenger side slammed into a fallen tree trunk.

The screeching of the tires echoed in her ears even when it stopped. It took her a moment to want to open her eyes, but once she did, she saw nothing. The hood of the car was draped with wet and muddy leaves and branches. The headlights were covered almost completely, making it even harder to see where they had ended up.

Hikaru was silent. With one of his hands on the wheel, he took a deep breath and turned to look at his other hand. Haruhi was holding it in both of hers, so tightly he thought she might stop the blow flow to his fingers.

He stepped on the gas, but they went nowhere. The tires just spun in the mud.

They were stuck.

He closed his eyes. "...Well."

Haruhi turned to him. "...We should have-"

"I know."

She looked down and released her hold on his arm. "Do you have your license with-"

He shook his head.

She turned away. "Well damn."

He looked at her again, at first with his eyes soft, but as she turned and met his gaze, he glared and looked back into the darkness of outside.

His heel tapped against the floor, as his chest built up largely with pent up air. "This is your fault."

Haruhi opened her mouth, then closed it. "...I'm not going to argue with you anymore. This is _entirely_ your fault."

"Not the _car_."

"Oh, then I suppose me even _existing_ is my fault."

"Yes."

Her brows creased. "You are the most infuriating human being I have ever had to soci-"

"Honestly, I've never had anything against you until right now," he said through a clenched jaw. "It's just right now, that I despise every cell that lives in your body."

Haruhi was silent The veins in his hands became larger the longer she looked at him. Moments ago he was just irritated, as always. But now he seemed down right furious with her. Which came out of nowhere.

Them falling down the hill wasn't even her fault!

She looked outside, avoiding his eyes. "I don't know whether that makes me happy or not."

He didn't move. "I can't stand you. Every other girl I've been around left the minute I said something mean to them, but no matter what I say or do to you, you just keep coming closer. Why would you even want to be around someone who verbally abuses you the way I do? Are you so dense that you don't even understand that I'm intending for you to hate me?"

Haruhi hesitated. No a moment she didn't have an answer. She listened to his heavy intakes of breath, and the expression he wore looked like he had just said something he shouldn't have, or at least regretted.

She blinked, fumbling her fingers together awkwardly. "If anything, it's intriguing," she paused, "...why would you want a stranger to hate you so much? Why is it so important that I not like you?"

"Because you make me remember someone I don't want to think about anymore. You remind me so much of them that I just want to push you off a cliff."

If she wasn't answerless before, she differently was now. She glared at the dash, planning on replying with a witty comeback, but there wasn't anything to say. His anger towards her wasn't necessarily meant for her. They were just pent up emotions from a grudge he built from someone he didn't like.

She tried to come up with something logical. "Is this about the Host Club?"

" _No_."

"Well I think it is," she muttered. "Maybe it's not important to you, but for me it is. I think all your life you've been generating hate. No matter where I see your name, someone always has something horrible to say about you."

His fingers dug into the leather of the wheel, but he said nothing.

He eyes softened as she turned to him one more time. "Are you just so used to people hating you that you've just become one great big ball of hate yourself and don't know how to react when someone doesn't automatically hate you back?"

"It's none of your business-"

"Oh please, with this garbage again," she groaned. "It's not my business but, seeing as that this is your fault my only car is practically destroyed, not to mention my face will probably be all over the papers for that hospital stunt you pulled earlier, I find that asking you a simple question shouldn't bring you too much embarrassment.''

"You're doing it again, and I don't like it."

"What? What could I _possibly_ be doing? I just want..." she stopped at the sound of him unbuckling his seatbelt. "It's raining outside, if you plan to go out there just to get away from me be my guest. I give up."

The looked down where he had unbuckled her seatbelt next and she looked up, glaring in confusion. He threw it away from her and grabbed her arm in a force that made her fall the way he tugged her.

She thought she might need to use her hand for support, but her hand didn't land on the seat like she thought. It landed on his leg, and her lips were on his before she could process that she was even being moved.

His hands held onto her face painfully tight so she couldn't move away, even as she tried to push him away. The only thing that budged was his tongue, which forcefully wrapped around her own the very instant her lips allowed him access.

"I hoped I'd never met someone like you again," he gasped between kisses he pushed against her. "I didn't want to like you."

Haruhi couldn't open her eyes, she couldn't move out of his strong grip, so she sat there, practically in his lap, letting his ravish kisses carry on wherever he laid them. Until she couldn't resist keeping her hands to herself anymore.

The curse? What curse? He forgot all about it. His hands moved to her hips, pulling her directly over him, before slipping into her shirt. And secretly while one was busy, his other hand moved to the latch to his seat, sending them backwards, shamefully giving them more room to fondle.

Pieces of clothing went off one by one, but as the automatic light in the car finally went off, they could barely see each other. Which, to Hikaru, was a good thing.

He had already seen more things then he wanted to, and was already going to regret it in the morning.

* * *

"...Kyouya-"

"Tamaki, if you wake me up one more time, I swear I will-"

"I'm cold. Can I sleep next to you?"

Kyouya turned his back to him. "Touch me and I'll break every bone in your body."

Tamaki frowned, pillowing his head as he laid on the floor. "Is that a _no_?"

Kyouya ignored him.

"Kyouya, what do you think Haruhi's doing?"

"Does it look like I care?"

"I don't know, I can't see your face."

"Go to sleep."

Tamaki pouted before pulling the blankets over his head. "I hope she didn't get kidnapped."

"I hope you'd get kidnapped."

"They'd probably bring me right back."

"Probably."


	19. Chapter 19

**Confrontation**

* * *

Hikaru and Haruhi woke up the moment the sun touched the windshield. Every ounce of evidence that It had rained so heavily, was gone. With the way the car was angled, they were blinded by the morning sunshine.

They had every intention in staying where they laid. Just for a little longer, but the light had reminded them of where they were and that they were completely, and utterly nude.

The seats of the car were both pushed back, along with the backseats that were pushed down. Everything that happened last night between the two of them was still fresh in their minds. It was a wonder how they even managed to do anything in the space limited car, but, they had done it. They had done absolutely everything they had told themselves they weren't going to do. And they had done a lot of it.

Every touch, every caress, every kiss. It multiplied. Binding into one great big mess. Their feelings were a wreaked, jumbled, and swirling in an ugly, raveled tornado.

Hikaru was the first to wake, not used to being confined in a tight space and having someone else touching his bare skin. His first impulse at seeing a woman sleeping next to him was to scream and push her away. Until he remembered where they were.

He was angry with himself. Why did he give in so easily last night? How did he give in into temptation that way? The moment he shows any signs of letting lose he lets go completely.

How could he betray himself that way?

Haruhi didn't stay asleep long. Hikaru kept fidgeting beneath her. Feeling extremely exposed (she was indeed, extremely exposed) she sat up, holding the first piece of clothing she found, tightly to her chest.

"Pointless in covering up," Hikaru had muttered. "There's nothing to hide anyway-"

And instead of covering up, she had grabbed every piece of clothing she could find, and threw it at his head, claiming it wasn't her fault she was so flat chested and he shouldn't be looking.

They had dressed themselves afterwards, and Hikaru said nothing else to her. Even when she was just asking him simple questions, or plainly just telling him that he should get out of the dirt.

Which led them up to what they were doing now. Now fully dressed, but still with their hair a mess, they climbed out of the car, not being able to avoid the sticky mud. They proceeded to try and find the tires that were hidden beneath the debris.

"Outa my way," Hikaru flicked his wrist, shooing her out of his eyesight. "Put pressure on the gas."

Haruhi rolled her eyes and did what he said. Time and time again she got her shoe stuck in the mud, but she still went to the car, pushing on the gas pedal.

The engine screeched and the tired spun, and mud flew out in all angles (especially all over Hikaru) but the car didn't budge.

"Alright, alright!" He groaned, stepping back from the car. "It's stuck. It's not going anywhere."

He looked down at the damaged bumper, then down at his clothes. He had the stench of last night, and the stains of mud all over him. Never in his life had he looked so dirty and unkept.

He made a face, and just as he opened his mouth to complain, there was a very un-ladylike snort that came from the person at his side, and he glared.

"Stop laughing," he growled. "You're just as bad."

Haruhi didn't bother to cover her face this time. She laid one hand on the car and pointed her finger at him as she laughed.

"You got a little something there."

He rubbed his hand over his forehead, and what he pulled back was a palm covered in half dried dirt.

Haruhi laughed louder. "It's all over your face!"

"I hate you. I hate everything about you."

"Oh _yes_ , because that was made very clear last night."

"Shut up."

Haruhi stood up, containing herself as she bit her lip. But with his mud covered face glaring at her, she could only bit her lip so hard, before bursting out in full blown chokes of laughter.

"Here... hold still," she said, trying to be firm and serious, as he was, but no one could stay serious as she managed to whisper every word between a chuckle.

Hikaru backed away, glaring at the ground as she came closer, soon he backed up too much that his back brushed against the bushes and had no choice but to hold still.

She tried keeping a straight face while she held up her sleeve to wipe away the dirt from his cheek. Her whole upper half shook with uncontrollable giggles, as he just wouldn't stop giving her his signature scowl.

He stood without moving a muscle. She rubbed at his cheek, wiping away the splattered mud from his nose then moving down to his jaw. She rubbed a little harder, trying to rub away his expression, but it only made it worse.

"There," she stepped back, a little smug. "All clean."

His face was soft, but hardened again once he came back to his senses.

"Don't touch me." He replied childishly, but made no point to move away.

Haruhi raised her brow. "You say that _after_ I'm done touching you."

He glared but she only laughed. He tried to side step her but even brushing her shoulder scared him, so, out of instinct, he flung his arms out to her, accidentally pushing her into the mug on her backside.

Haruhi gasped as she hit the ground. Her pants now soiled. She looked up to meet Hikaru's look of shock. Looking as though he hadn't met to do what he just did.

For a moment she was mad. Her clothes would have to be washed, but then again, so would his. Her scowl disappeared, replaced with an evil glower. Once he made no movement to give her his hand to help her up, her own hand sunk into the mud and that handful was through at him.

Hikaru couldn't dodge it. The mud ball hit his chest and he looked down, seeing a mud ball stain on his shirt. Then, his glare returned, and he was mad again.

He said nothing, and instead waited until Haruhi stood up before he replied with a mud ball to her backside.

She squealed, turning back around. Her face flushed and her hands covering where he threw it. Before he could get away, she threw another glob of mud at him, not bothering to even shape it.

He growled and enough mud to cover both his hands, and without remorse, he aimed it at her head. Luckily for her she managed to cover her face with her hands and ended up with ammo to throw back at him.

"Stop it!" He tried to sound serious, but his tone vibrated with a tiny bit of amusement. She only laughed at him again, making him look like an utter fool.

"I shouldn't have even bothered wiping you off," she snickered, referring to his face that was now covered in even more mud. "Except... I'll have to go home dressed like this."

Hikaru was appalled. He looked down at himself, and wiped at his face with his own sleeve. His hair was another story. He didn't even want to look at the damage. He wanted nothing more than a shower at this point.

He looked at her, his face scrunched up in a hard scowl. The giant ball of mud he had thrown at her made a big difference in her clothing. It was a rare sight to see the original color of her shirt anywhere. His cheeks twitched, struggling to keep something contained.

Had he just played in the mud? With a woman no less.

He played... in the _mud_.

That laugh his jaw tried to contain escaped. He tried to cover his mouth with his fist, but he wasn't fast enough. He laughed at her. He laughed at the speck of mud on her nose. He laughed at the mud running down her collarbone. He laughed at the funny way she was looking at him, and he laughed at the fact that he was actually laughing.

He hadn't laughed so wholeheartedly at something this little in a long time. Ren, was the last woman who wasn't related to him that he laughed in front of. It felt unnatural.

Haruhi stood still, holding her hands to the buttons of her shirt. It was almost awkward, but his laugh was cute, and rather contagious as she started laughing too. Inside she was overly trilled. Trilled too much that she dared not mention it to him.

They were too distracted by themselves to hear footsteps coming up over the hill.

"Hey!" A booming voice called out to them, "You two need any help?"

They stopped, almost too embarrassed to answer the man in uniform.

Haruhi grinned and went to reply to him, thankful that they finally had help (after a whole morning of being stuck in a ditch).

All the while Hikaru was annoyed that they were so rudely interrupted.

* * *

Kaoru sat on the edge of his seat, holding tightly to his wife's hand.

It had been so long since she stopped allowing him to touch her that now, with this free chance, he showed no signs he letting go.

If only she was holding his hand back. He'd be happy.

"This is stupid," Ryo, their doctor, said. But this time, he seemed irritated. "This isn't your sickness. She needs professional help, more equipment, things I can't get my hands on out of a hospital. She can't stay here."

"We can't," Kaoru answered dryly, from lack of sleep. "You know why we can't take her."

"This is wrong. She needs medical attention."

"You're a doctor."

Thrusting his hands towards his hand, Ryo showed signs of truly giving up. "You underestimate what I can do. There's only so much I can pull out of my bag. I don't have gastric lavage. There's certain things I can't help with."

Kaoru hesitated. "...I want to take her to the hospital, but I can't. They'll need to run blood tests and internal screening, and we can't let them."

"You can trust one measly doctor with your family, but you can't request special treatment from the hospital? People who you'd ask not to question the virus?"

"That's too many people to trust."

Ryo heaved. Inside he was trying not to explode. There he was, with his wife unconscious from an overdose, refusing to have her even treated. Even if treatment wouldn't do much good. She was still a walking soul with or without her overdosage.

"The virus is a personal medication," Kaoru added softly. "It just doesn't take care of it's self. She'll be okay no matter what You're just supposed to make it easier."

"Then there isn't anything I can do." Ryo swept off his pants and headed for the door. "The next time you call me over here, be sure it's for something external. Not something internal that I can't fix."

Kaoru was practically being choked by thin air. "Wait, but can't... can't you give her something?"

Ryo turned back around, glaring. "Don't you think she's had enough?"

Kaoru sat back down, quietly. "I just thought..."

Nothing. He didn't think anyone could do anything. He just hoped. Maybe something would come up. Maybe something would help Mayuki, but then it wouldn't help what was really the problem. The virus attacked any sickness that was in the body before it can do any damage. The virus itself just wouldn't go away.

His voice cracked, being afraid to look into the doctor's eyes again, or to say anymore.

"...Is she in pain?"

Ryo looked over his shoulder. "She's in a deep sleep, but she's sure going to feel the consequences later."

Yazuha held the door open for their doctor as he made his escape. As he made his way through the house to leave, she looked into the room, staring in empathy at her youngest son who looked to be on the verge of breaking down.

She took a seat on the edge of the bed, blocking his view.

"It's been hours," she mentioned quietly. "You should let her be for awhile."

"Before this, it was sleeping pills," he said, "She hates me so much she hurts herself. I don't know what to do to make her stop."

His mother said nothing. After what seemed like a whole minute of silence she reached over to touch his hair. She couldn't tell him anything. There wasn't anything he could do to fix this. No one could.

"The virus helped her last time," she replied. "She'll be okay."

"What if she does something and the Virus can't fix it fast enough?"

"Well don't let her get that far," she gave his shoulder a pat. "You're smart, figure it out yourself. This family would be in shambles if we didn't learn to fix our own problems."

"This family _is_ in shambles."

She stood up, glancing only briefly at her unconscious sister-in-law. "And Isn't it about time we fixed that? This family Is destroying themselves. Look at your brother, and Mayuki. How _are_ we going to fix this, Kaoru? It's your generation that's going to form the next one. Are we going to leave this to them?"

He looked up, confused. He opened his mouth, but quickly shut it once his mother kissed his head and, in the next instant, was out of his view.

"Just remember," She piped up, winking. "Even if your wife doesn't like you, your mama still does."

Kaoru just waved her away. "Yah, like that's going to help me any."

With that, he was left alone. Again, skipping another meal.

* * *

Haruhi raised from the floor after retrieving the spare key from beneath the welcome mat to her apartment. With her face beat red, she bit her lip, as if trying to force down her embarrassment.

The morning had passed rather quickly, but the minutes lasted hours towards lunch time. An innocent passerby stopped to help her and Hikaru with her car, and afterwards, let them call for a tow-truck. Hikaru said nothing to her the whole time they made their way back to civilization, but there wasn't anything to be said anyway.

They sat in the tow-truck, covered in drying mud. There were times when the truck driver would ask them what they were doing, but there wasn't an answer for that. What they were actually doing was too embarrassing that she rather not say it to anyone.

Now, she was still covered in mud, but she was home and she was thankful for that.

But what caused her to fluster up was the sudden hug Hikaru had pulled her into before they went their separate ways. Granted, if was more so of him grabbing the back of her head and stuffing his face into her hair, but to her it was a halfhearted hug that only Hikaru could give.

The reason for it was unknown to her, as she pulled away from her after that with a perturbed scowl on his face, but otherwise it was harmless.

That was just the topping to her morning. But it was what made everything come together.

After thinking a little bit more about it, she shoved her key into the lock and opened the door. She stretched her arm out, with her other arm going straight for her jacket.

"Haruhi!"

She froze.

Her eyes traveled around the room, landing on a specific person sitting on the floor. That person just happened to be blonde, and painfully familiar.

Haruhi didn't move from her place. "...Tamaki?"

"Haruhi you're alive!" He half shouted in relief. His voice triggered the other people, who were hiding around the corner, to appear. She was knocked off her feet as he lounged at her, with her air being knocked from her lungs.

"Haru-chan!" Huni exclaimed, throwing himself at her other side. "We've been waiting ages for you to get back. Where've you been?"

"Why are you in my _house_?"

Tamaki grabbed her face, turning her cheeks, looking for injuries. "Why do you do this to us like this, Haruhi? We've been so worried. Don't you know your father has heart problems?"

"My dad has _what_?"

" _Me_ , Haruhi. I'm talking about _me_."

Haruhi looked away from him, noticing Mori and Kyouya in the corner. "Seriously, _where_ did you guys even come from?"

"We've been waiting here since yesterday afternoon." Kyouya answered from the other side of the room, holding a well needed cup of coffee. "It's all his fault."

Tamaki shook her shoulders. "You nearly gave me an ulcer. When you didn't come home last night, even after midnight! What were you doing?"

Haruhi blinked, barely able to breathe. "I didn't know you were here, so why would I have told you where I was going?"

"We came here looking for you!" He looked off to the side, glaring at Kyouya for him to intervene. "When your dad said you were out on a date with one of those... _twins_ , I couldn't believe it. _My_ little Haruhi, corrupted by-"

"Save it, Tamaki," she pinched his hand, making him pull away from her. "I've had a long morning. I'm going to make tea, change my clothes, and take a nap. And you guys are going to leave."

"Where is this tone coming from?" Tamaki gasped. "What did those two do to you?"

Haruhi's eyes looked away from him. "Nothing."

"You're a terrible liar, Haruhi." He grabbed her shoulders again and spun her around, looking for something he could use as evidence. He looked down at her clothes, and it wasn't until just then that he noticed she was filthy.

He picked up her hand, referring to her sleeve. "What is this?"

She sighed. "I told you, I had I long morning."

"You're a girl, not a hamster! What were you doing all morning? _Rolling_ in the mud?"

"Sort of."

"You're breaking my heart, Haruhi."

"My car got stuck in the mud last night and a slept in a ditch, it's no big deal."

"That's oddly peculiar," Kyouya mentioned, catching their attention. "And were you alone?"

All four boys took note of the blush that shrouded her face that instant.

"Well..." she hesitated. "No. Not really."

"I knew it! This is all the twins fault wasn't it? You get involved with them and my daughter sleeps in a ditch! Which one was it, Haruhi? Just say their name and I'll take care of them."

"Why does it matter? I'm almost twenty-four years old, not fifteen. Keeping tabs on everything I do these days... it gets a little weird."

"So? Which was it?"

"Hikaru, but does it matter?"

"Haruhi! He's the worst!"

"I thought you said, _Kaoru_ , was the worst?"

"There's no difference!"

"Whatever, Tamaki, just leave," Haruhi ripped her hand from the blonde's grasp. " _All_ of you. I'm exhausted and you yelling in my ear isn't helping my headache. Why don't you all disappear for another six years and pretend to care after that?"

"Haruhi, wait," Tamaki grabbed her hand again, and held it tight once she tried to get away. "I didn't-... I mean, if you think of them as friends, I didn't mean to offend you. Its just-"

"Say no more, you've made your point." She looked up at him, slipping away her hand as his fingers loosened. "You're jealous. And if you're worried, they're not like you say. Maybe it's because you only have their middle-school days to judge them by."

"It's not that," he frowned, stepping back as she shooed him away. "I just really don't think you should be around them anymore. I don't think you really understand what they're like."

Haruhi turned to Kyouya. "Can you make him stop?"

Kyouya shrugged. "He knows what he's talking about, Haruhi."

"I'm sure they're not as bad as they used to be, Haru-chan," Huni spoke gently through all their loud voices. "They just weren't very nice. They're kinda mean."

Haruhi distanced herself from all of them. "They're not violent. Just because they didn't like the Host club you judge them?"

"We're not judging them," Tamaki turned around, letting his eyes follow her. "I didn't mention it earlier, but did they tell you why they left school? They had to leave because they were too violent with their other classmates. My father told me that their mother had to take them out or things were going to get worst with them around."

"You're only saying this because you don't want me around them."

"No. It's because I think they're dangerous and that you should be more cautious."

Haruhi glared. Even with her dirty clothes she planned to leave the house. Having a family, that she's come to really like, be insulted in front of her upset her. She moved, but her hand was grabbed by Huni this time, and he was looking at her, almost sad.

"I don't think they're violent, Haru-chan," he said, "but... they do have really bad tempers, and they get mad easily. We just don't want them to take it out on you."

"It was the day after they left the club that they got into a fight with one of their classmates," Kyouya added. "It was isolated, but it got out of hand. The boy they fought with was Nekozawa's younger cousin and he had to be taken to the ER afterwards. The twins never came back to the academy after that."

Haruhi paused. She waited for Huni to let her hand go before she even breathed.

"And what?" she began. "Did Kaoru cause that too?"

Tamaki frowned. "That was Hikaru. Kaoru has an mean attitude, but Hikaru actually hurts people."

"You were apart of that?"

"No. I only know what my father told me, but-"

"Then you don't really know what happened. Hikaru wouldn't hurt people for no reason."

His brow creased. "And you know that for sure? We're only worried about you. You don't know what they're capable of."

"And neither do you apparently." She left him with that before turning around and heading around the corner. "You're all reinforcing your beliefs with gossip, and I'm not going to listen to it anymore."

" _Where_ are you going now?"

"To take a shower. I have mud in places where I'm not proud of."

* * *

 ** _I wrote the beginning of this chapter while listening to the soundtrack of "Beauty and the Beast" so you can probably guess why it was kind of strange. Did Hikaru just play in the dirt?_**

 ** _Thank goodness the story is hitting it's climax. Chapter 19 and we're just now seeing character development. And a little relationship stuff. And I've been working on my dialogue, so hopefully you can see improvement._**

 ** _Well hang tight. I was up all night fixing the plot, (because you guys have to admit that it was kinda messed up) and this story isn't going anywhere for awhile. Secrets are starting to be reveled and I'm super duper excited. Have a nice day and I hope you all had a nice Easter! 2016 ~_**


	20. Chapter 20

**Fair Child**

* * *

Mayuki opened her eyes to a numbing twinge.

She moved her arm, to find that she could barely feel the muscles she used. Her heavy eyelids fell and she turned where the mattress stooped to get comfortable.

The blanket fell off her shoulder, and she shivered against a cold draft. The warmth she curled up next to was vaguely familiar, but felt strange. Still half asleep, she nuzzled closer. The feeling of warm skin against her own drifted her back to sleep.

When she opened her eyes again she hadn't known half an hour had passed. She shifted more into the heat that surrounded her and laid still, listening to another's heartbeat that fluttered just beneath her ear.

Her hand moved to their chest, their shirt kneaded between her fingers. She made a face of displeasure, but she was stricken with fatigue, and made no attempt to move.

"...Why are you in my bed?"

"I thought you were going to say that," Kaoru said, "so I brought you into _our_ bed."

Her expression barely faltered. "Why?"

"Would you rather have stayed on the bathroom floor where I found you?"

"I'd rather be there than in your bed."

He shook his head at her stubbornness. "My bedroom's down the hall. I brought you into our old room so it didn't seem like I was forcing you into my bed while you were unconscious."

"I don't want to be in here."

"You can leave if you want to."

She didn't move. "...I don't feel like it."

"You would feel better if you didn't try to poison yourself last night, but you know... that isn't any of _my_ business."

His light, careless tone ignited her hatred for him. She gripped the blankets that had ended up at her middle and pulled it over her head.

"Go away." She grumbled.

"I would but you're sick."

"I'm fine. Leave me alone."

He sat up against the pillows as she rolled off his arm. "How many times do you have to do this to yourself before you realize you're not invincible? The virus isn't going to protect you from everything."

Mayuki said nothing, and turned on her side, her back facing him.

He waited for an answer he knew would come. At least not an answer he wanted to hear. Which was an apology she never thought she'd need to give.

"Did you think it was going to work this time? 'The bigger amount the faster It'd work'. Is that what you thought?" He said, with as much calmness as he could muster.

She still laid there, silent.

"It doesn't work that way," he mentioned, through the sound of his voice she could tell he was struggling to say every little word. "It might have... you were out for hours and you didn't tell anyone you were ill."

She turned her face into the pillows.

"You must've forgot, that I can feel it when you're sick."

For a moment they were still. He was hinting something. Something he wasn't proud of. Mayuki's hand released her wrist and touched her neck. There was a bandage, and as she pressed against it, a very familiar, very new, and raw pain pinched her vein.

Her blood flared with anger, and Kaoru flinched, as if he could feel the heated rage that transmitted from her in waves.

"You..." she sat up, her hand cupping the side of her neck, where her long hair curtained her fingers. "...You did it, while I was asleep?"

"I had to, Mayuki." he defended, as quiet as a mouse.

"You didn't have to. I was asleep, I couldn't tell you no."

"You had a fever," he tried to explain. "Your blood pressure plummeted. If I didn't, you wouldn't have woken up."

"Well maybe that was the point," she slapped his hand as he tried to reach for her. "I didn't want to wake up. I didn't think you'd bite me anyway."

He grabbed her wrist, not hard, but tight enough she couldn't pull away. "I hate that I'm the reason you hurt all the time, and no matter how much you want to, I'm not going to let you kill yourself over this, because it's my fault."

She grabbed his hand and tried to pry it away from her. "Let go."

"No. I don't want you to do this anymore. How long do we have before you do something so stupid the virus can't help you?"

"I never wanted it to help me. I never wanted it in the first place!"

"None of us did. But at least the rest of us try to live with it."

"You were born with it, but you _gave_ it to me." She pulled her arm, "It's a lot easier to live with when you're the one _dishing_ it out."

He looked up at her, gripping her shoulder. "It doesn't matter who it's hardest for. We're in the same situation, but you're habits are making it any easier."

Mayuki glared, she jerked her shoulder out of his grasp and made a movement to slap him, just to make him get away from her, but he grabbed both her hands, forcing them to his chest. Despite her struggles against him, he held her tighter.

"Let go, Kaoru," she complained. "Leave me alone, you already got what you want."

"After all this time, you still think I want this," He brought his arms around her before she could slip away. "I wanted to give you a lot of things, but the virus wasn't one of them. I just wanted you, but now that I do... if I do the tiniest thing wrong, I might lose you."

"I don't want to do this," he added, wretched. "I don't want to fight all the time, I don't want to hurt you, and I don't want you to do this ever again. I can't take it anymore."

Her eyes widened, and she ripped herself out of his arms. " _You_ can't take this anymore? What's happened to you?"

He didn't bother to reply. Anything he'd say would most likely be turned on him, so she was the victim in every aspect, and truly, she was, but he didn't want to hear it anymore.

He nearly tackled her to grab her again, she squealed and shoved him, but his arms locked around her so tight it was painful to turn. She pulled at his arms, squirming to get away from him.

"Kaoru," she whimpered against threatening tears. "Let go."

"No."

"Let me go, I don't want to be in here."

"I don't care." His face hid in her hair, ignoring her quivering. "How can I know you won't try to hurt yourself if you lock yourself back in your room? How do I know you're not hiding things in there you don't want me to see?"

"What would you care for anyway?" she fought back the lump in her throat as she pushed against him, her nails scratching his skin. "I... don't have anything in there, just let me go."

"I can't," he said against her neck, even if he knew his touch wasn't comforting to her. "Can you promise you won't do this again? Can you say you won't run away to the drugs store every time you don't want to deal with me? Can you say you won't try to kill yourself over this anymore?"

She bit her lip, shaking against his chest. She clutched his arms, hiding her face in her own shoulder to hide her tears.

"I hate you," she whispered.

"I know," he said gently. "But I love you."

As he heard her crying, his arms loosened, and she fell against him. Leaning on his open arm, she held her face, hiding her reddening eyes, while fruitlessly trying to hide her sobs.

It had been so long since she allowed herself to cry in front of him, that he just sat there, holding her until she'd stop.

* * *

Hikaru let the front door hang open as he walked through the entry hall of the mansion. If he could leave all his problems at the doorstep, he would have, but even as a maid shut the door and took off his coat, his problems were weighing on his shoulders, getting heavier the further he got to his family members.

The maid scurried around him, jabbering nonsense that he ignored. She ran off quickly as Yazuha came into view, to fetch her boss's jacket.

He saw his mother leaning against the banister, but he walked passed her without a simple greeting word. He didn't trust his throat to speak. Only minutes before, he was in his car, parked in the driveway for only Kami knew how long, thinking about everything he had done wrong, and his feelings were getting the best of him.

Yazuha's eyes followed her son, his face was written with sober, unreadable features. After the trick her younger son, and mother had played on him, he didn't look angry like she thought he would be. Like he should be.

"Hikaru," she called out to him, and he stopped immediately. "Where've you been? We were getting worried after you didn't come home last night."

He shrugged, ripping his muddy over-shirt from his body and tossed it to an maid who wasn't paying attention. "I'm fine."

"Why are you so dirty?"

"There was an accident. It's fine now."

She frowned. "Is that all? The doctor just left, should I call him back?"

"Wouldn't do any good."

She rolled her eyes. She shooed away the maid who was holding out her jacket, and followed her son to wherever he was heading. "You missed quite the commotion while you were out running around."

"I had my own commotion to worry about." He said, discarding her attempt of conversation.

"Kaoru got arrested."

He turned to her, scowling. " _Arrested_? For what?"

"Akira called for a warrant. She was accusing him of spousal Abuse." she said somberly. "He's came back, only to wake everyone up after he found Mayuki half dead in her room."

He was speechless for a moment, not quite sure what to say. Until his senses came back. "Well, it's been a long day few days for all of us."

"And what happened to you?" she came up to him, reaching up to rub dry dirt from under his jaw. "Did you run into Haruhi yesterday?"

He grabbed her hand and stepped away. "And were you in on that too?" he asked sourly. "I'm sick of girls and being this family's play thing. When I decided that I wanted to be alone back then, you all should have accepted that instead of always going behind my back."

Yazuha cringed. "I didn't have anything to do with it, and if you don't want to be around girls anymore, you don't have to be. I'll talk to your brother."

"It's too late for that," he let go of his mother's hand and turned away. "I already screwed up."

Her heart sunk at those words. She was almost scared to ask. "Hikaru, you know... it isn't a crime to like someone. We're human like everyone else. If you do end up passing the virus on to someone else, no one is going to think any less of you."

His voice was the only thing that raised. "Funny, because the only other person who has ever said that to us was our _mother_."

"Nothing about us relates us to human beings, just because we look like other people doesn't make us the same," his tone was like an injection in her heart. "If we went public with the curse the whole country would conspire against us. Even the people who used to be close to us, remind us daily how much we ruined their lives."

"No one's ever told you that, Hikaru," she reminded him. "Mayuki's said that, but only to your brother. You've never had anyone hate you before. You're just scared of what _could_ happen. You're too influenced by your brother's relationship."

"Between us and the Nekozawa's, how many people died? Except _we're_ the ones who destroy innocent people."

"You've always been too worried about other people," she groaned, speaking to his backside as he walked away. "It's the virus that hurts people, but you've never done anything wrong

"You've only liked one person in your life but you let them go, you're conscience is cl-"

"Two."

She looked up. "What?"

"Two people," he muttered, barely making a sound. "And they were mistakes."

She smiled, but it wasn't from happiness. "...Haruhi?"

"Don't tell, Kaoru."

Yazuha brushed out the wrinkles in her shirt before going up to him and rubbing his dirty hair. "Well if you ask me-"

"I didn't."

She scowled. "I think she'd be a good influence on you."

Hikaru moved away, fixing his hair. "Except I'll never see her again. You think after when we did I'll want to be with her? I didn't avoid girls for the past three years to give in at the end."

"True, but last time, if I remember correctly, it was almost two years before you even called that last one your girlfriend." She smirked. "It's barely even been four months that you've known, Haruhi."

He grumbled. "So? I don't love her. I don't even _romantically_ like her."

Yazuha shook her head, gesturing to a maid to bring her, her purse. "Well you never said you weren't allowed to have _friends_. Maybe having friends again will give you another aspect at things in life."

"... I don't like her as a friend either."

"Is there another kind of _like_?"

"I prefer the term: Strangers with benefits."

She was about to leave before he said that. She turned her head, narrowing a suspicious eyebrow. "...Is there a possible chance I might be a grandmother by the end of the month?"

"I sure hope not."

"Well I was going to ask what you did last night, but I think I just got my answer."

* * *

All was silent at the Nekozawa estate. There was a slight breeze in the air as the sun was dimming to set the late afternoon atmosphere.

Umehito sat, kicked back in his chair as he watched his dear little sister from the third store window. She was out in the harden, showing her handpicked flowers to their youngest cousin.

He lounged back, with his hood pulled over his face. It had been a long time before he felt light and carefree. Yes, in the back of his mind, there was a little voice, kicking, screaming at him to pay attention to it, to be sad and remember about his family, and their heartache. That voice was being ignored, so finally he could have peace.

His eyes closed at the sound of the floor creaking behind him.

"Young master," one of his regular maids spoke quietly. "There's something I'd like to talk to you about."

"If it includes the Hitachiin's, I'd rather you leave it unsaid."

"It doesn't," she said, stepping around the table to stand at his side. "It's about your cousin."

"Which one?"

"Well... not your _cousin_ , but your mother's uncle." her voice was tiny. "While cleaning things, I found written documents from your mother's eldest uncle, Aki."

"From her father's side, or her mother's?"

"Father's. He was a Nekozawa."

Umehito didn't move. "I see. And what about him?"

"Well... there was something written there I'm not sure you knew about. I've contacted your mother's father, but he doesn't claim to know about anything his brother did."

"And what do you say he did?"

"Well... In a journal," she reached to pull it from her pocket. "In _this_ journal, Mr. Aki, wrote something about a, miss Kazue."

"And? Aki didn't marry a, _Kazue_. Her name was Nagisa."

"Yes, he did marry, Mrs. Nagisa, but... Kazue was a girl before her," she held out the journal to him. "It isn't written, but he makes it sound as though there was some sort of love affair between the two of them."

"Minori, don't you get enough of this sort of thing from Kirimi's shojo?"

She blushed, looking down. "But, I... but sir, this is important! It isn't just family dirt. If you read it, you'll see."

Umehito looked down at it. "I don't wish to bother myself with this nonsense."

"But sir, Mrs. Kazue had a _child_."

He looked at her from below his hood, holding out the book for her to take back. "And what good does knowing that, do for us?"

"That child was Mr. Aki's progeny. His _child_. It says he went to visit it once when it was born but that's the last entry. Mr. Aki didn't write anything else in it."

He looked down at the book again. "And what did he say about it? Nothing?"

"That the child was a girl."

Umehito stopped. Then after a moment passed, he turned away. "I see... that would make that child of Nekozawa blood. But that was a long time ago, so whoever that child was, is long gone now."

"Yes..." she nodded, almost regretting her words. "but... if that child, or... woman, also had a child then... There might be another Nekozawa relative somewhere out there. That is... that is what I wanted to talk to you about."

"About a possible relative? And how old do you assume this relative is?"

"I'm not sure, but... in the book," she opened the book to the last few pages, pointing down at a few distinct words, "Aki wrote that his own brother didn't even know of the child. And miss Kazue didn't keep it. She gave the baby away because she couldn't care for it."

"This news is meaningless to us," he said, looking back out the window. "That child grew and is now gone. any sort of kin they might have had doesn't have much time now, if they also had a girl, so what does it matter?"

"I..." she sighed. "I don't know. If we could find who this relative is, or was, there's hope in continuing the Nekozawa line."

"Leave me," he raised his hand in riddance. "It isn't a day to be talking about this. Maybe if you were to find this relative, had he come up a male, there might be, but other than that, there's no hope."

Minori frowned, she looked at the small book in her hands and bowed graciously to her employer before turning away.

"Yes, sir."


	21. Chapter 21

**Acceptance**

* * *

She walked the hall, her footsteps barely making a sound. Ever so often she'd stop to look over her shoulder, as there was a constant feel of someone watching her.

It had been days since she had collapsed after her overdose. The virus's symptoms calmed after Kaoru took her blood. Since then she made no attempt to go anywhere. With her husband always in sight, keeping a close eye on her no matter where she went in the house. The bathroom was the only time she didn't see him, but once she'd come out, he'd come around a corner and be there.

She heard footsteps, but they were from a passerby maid who was carrying towels up to the bedrooms upstairs. She let out the heavy breath that weighed on her chest and took small steps down the corridor, turning the corner to the back hall.

No sounds other than her own breath and heartbeat disturbed the silence. She swallowed and stepped quietly to the backdoor.

"Miss, Mayuki?"

Mayuki stopped, turning towards the voice that came from her side.

"Yes?" she almost groaned, to the butler who's name she forgot.

The ecpression the butler wore was not one that looked pleased. He looked at her then turned to the door. It was moments like this that he hated his job.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

She closed her eyes for a moment. "...nowhere. I just..."

"I... can't let you leave."

She glared. "What?"

"Mr. Hitachiin said not to let you leave, miss, so... I can't."

"Not to leave?"

"He said you're not to leave the estate, unless he accompanies you. He said you can go wherever you want, just as long as he goes with you."

Mayuki clenched her hand around the doorknob. "Did he now...?"

"Yes, ma'am."

She breathed, looking over her shoulder, only wishing her husband would be there, so she could ease the tension in her fist. She turned back after she saw no one and backed away from the exit.

She was mad, of course, but she didn't show it. Her shoulders flared with anger but she said nothing. With one unhappy smile to the innocent butler Mayuki turned on her heel and left.

Her grandfather in-law was standing in the next hall as she passed, but she paid him no mind. Her thoughts were on something else rather then her surroundings.

Through his glasses, the old man watched as she stalked passed him. He read the look on her face but quickly looked away before she noticed.

He stared at his ice-tea and sighed.

It was quiet, but there was no peace. No one was ever happy.

* * *

There was pain everywhere. It was nauseating, heart-wrenching, joint-crippling. Everything hurt, everything stung, as if he was being stabbed by a thousand needles into every pulse point he had.

Hikaru laid his forehead in his hand. It would pass, he told himself in his head, over and over and had been telling himself that for the past hour. It would pass, soon it would only be a distant twang, but that time was moving further and further away. He couldn't even remember what calmness felt like.

Pain like this would come and go. It would become hard to breathe, hard to speak, hard to think. He could feel the virus everywhere, it felt cold, yet burned. It flowed through the veins, to his temples, causing a torturing migraine.

He collapsed, resting his head in his hand. His fingers were tremulous as he searched the nightstand for his medication. It was medicine for people, not for him. It was made for normal pain, not this. Not the virus. Not real pain.

Once he located the medicine, he stared at the practically empty bottle and realized his effort was worthless. The bottle was full just yesterday, now there was just a couple pills which would have lasted a human a whole week but really only lasted him for a sitting.

He had taken too much, yet had felt nothing. It wasn't working.

Hikaru sat back, leaning his head against the bed as he sat on the floor. He dropped the medication and let it roll beneath the dresser. He closed his eyes, letting it all just consume him.

His breaths were slight, barely even breathing at all. He sat still, clenching his fist around his own wrist, holding tight until his knuckles paled. How long had it been now? The whole evening? An hour? Five minutes? Whichever, it had been far too long.

Maybe he had fallen asleep just then, maybe he didn't, but the next time he opened his eyes the pain was gone, leaving in it's wake, just a tiny throb throughout his body.

He heaved, half chocking on air.

It would be so much better if all he could do was think about the pain, but his mind traced along the memories of a few nights ago. He hadn't left his room since that day he woke up beside Haruhi in the back of her car.

Thinking about her was probably the reason for his virus attack. Reminding himself of what he needed but refused to have wasn't the way to go. His body knew what he needed. Everyday it told him, reminding him what he needed to go after. Even if it was just her touch.

That touch, one that was electrifying against his own, was soothing, like ice to an inflamed wound. What would more do?

What would her blood do?

His eyes widened. No. No, he wasn't. He couldn't think about It. His mind was twisting everything down avenues he wanted to avoid. His body craved something.

 _No_ , it craved _everything_.

It craved everything he once had at his fingertips. Her every touch, every small caress, every tiny gesture, every hot kiss. He ached, ached to have her, ached to taste her.

His shoulder hit the floor as he fell over. Why? Why was this happening? How could his body have withdrawals from someone he only touched once? How could he feel this way for someone he's only know for such a short time?

It was as though all his old, confined feelings he had for Ren, broke loose and attached themselves to, Haruhi. Two years worth of love he once had for someone else, was now for her. Everything was for her.

The thought of someone else touching her angered him. His mind was a mess. He was losing it. She was his. The thought of another person's hand touching hers caused his heart to go into overdrive.

Then, he felt something. Something he'd felt before but not for so long. He parted his lips, trying to breathe. There was a pang, it hurt. And he was overcome with scenes from his past, and his old girlfriend.

When he pushed her to the ground, and yelled at her to leave. When he looked at her, and looked at her look of fear. It was the first time anyone was afraid of him. It was moments after he had felt the virus kick in. Moments after he held her so tight he couldn't let go.

Moments before he felt his teeth, and his own life being ripped apart, being put back together with dark, twisted things that made up his family's reality.

He was a monster.

Hikaru gasped, staring at the ceiling, feeling everything again. He covered his mouth with his hands.

There was no one around. She wasn't around. Neither of them were. Just thinking about Haruhi had made him lose all sense of control. He felt the sharpness against his tongue. He laid still, waiting for them to go away.

Tears built up in his eyes. He never wanted to feel this again. How was he going to fix it?

Suddenly, a thought occurred to him. The idea hurt him, his shoulders shook and more tears fell passed his lashes.

She wasn't horrible. She wasn't totally intolerable. She was nice. She made his laugh.

He wanted to save her. He wanted her close, yet wanted her far away. Far away from him as possible, yet wanted her so close he could taste her.

How did he fall in love with her over night?

* * *

Haruhi turned on her side, she felt the soft cushion of a pillow beneath her cheek, and groaned, irritated that her nap was disturbed. The house was quiet, so she wasn't sure what had awoken her, but it was most likely something stupid, or maybe it was her own thoughts.

She snuggled into the warmth of the small blanket that was thrown over her shoulder and breathed. She closed her eyes tight again, maybe she'd be able to get another few minutes of sleep before having to make dinner.

Then there was a small creak of wood, and she frowned. Her eyes open and she was greeted with a face just inches before her own, she curled her nose at their teasing grin and turned the opposite direction.

"Your presence woke me up," she grumbled.

"Are you sure it was my presence?" Ryoji chuckled, laying his elbow on his knee as he sat on the coffee table. "You've been out quite awhile, maybe you woke yourself up when you were sleep talking."

"Were you watching me sleep?"

"Well it was kind of hard to resist, when you looked so cute and muttered half sentences."

Haruhi arched her brow, but didn't bother to question him. "Whatever," she sat up, "tell me I didn't leave the tea on the burner before I fell asleep."

"You did, but I took care of it."

"Hmm."

" _Sooo_ ," he stood up, watching her walk to the kitchen. "Are you going to tell me about that date of yours or are you just going to let your father suffer in ignorance?"

"I already told you, it wasn't a date," she called from the kitchen. "It was everything _but_ a date."

"You spent over twenty-four hours with a boy, what do you call that?"

"Hikaru's not a _boy_."

"Oh that's right, " He sighed, "my daughter's old enough to have adult dates now. Okay, so what did you do with this _guy?_ "

She glared. "Nothing. We just ran around town all day. Nothing special."

"So how come he didn't bring you home last night?" He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"Can you be a normal father and scold me for coming home late? Not pester me about my non-existent love life? You act like you _want_ me to date him."

"I do want you to date him, have I not made myself clear enough?" Ryoji groaned, childishly, like a kid who wasn't getting his way. "It's not every day your daughter gets involved with one of the sons of your favorite fashion designer."

"The only thing you'd get out of that relationship is nice clothes," she shot back.

"Uh, yeah, and extremely beautiful grandbabies. Have you not seen what they look like?"

"Dad! yes, I've seen what they look like." Unintentionally, her mind backtracked to a couple night ago, to the night she spent with Hikaru. "I've actually seen a lot of what they look like."

His eyes widened. "Both of them?"

"No! That's not what I meant. Just _one_."

"Well I can't say that both of them would be particularly _bad_."

She groaned. "You're the worst."

He laughed. "Don't get snappy at me, you're the one who was mumbling his name in your sleep."

Haruhi opened her mouth, then, as her face flushed crimson, she turned around, fiddling absently with the pots on the stove.

"Mumbled his...name," she whispered a stubborn growl. "No I didn't."

Ryoji rolled his eyes sarcastically. "Honestly Haruhi, all your talk about your new boyfriend sure is _annoying_. I almost get tired of hearing it. You just talk _so_ much."

She scoffed. "Whatever. I don't have time for that kind of stuff. What do you want for dinner?"

He raised his hands in defeat. "I'd prefer a new, beautiful, son-in-law, but chicken would suffice."

She dismissed him with a dry laugh. "Go to your room."

Before he had time to reply with the witty comment he had in mind he was interrupted by a few subtle knocks at the front door. Haruhi shooed him away and he pouted, temporarily putting the conversation to rest.

Marring his daughter off to a hot fashion model was proving to be harder than he thought.

Since when had his daughter become so ungrateful?

With one more look towards the back of her head he went away to the calling door. He breathed, checking his shaven face and hair in the mirror. It was his day off, so he hadn't put so much effort into his appearance, but there was on shame in letting his neighbors see him in his pajamas.

He cracked his neck and yawned without bothering to look and see who it was, he opened the door, half expecting to see a dramatic blonde and his friends.

But it wasn't who he thought.

He slammed the door shut as fast as he opened it.

"Haruhi!" He sang, "It's for you."

In the kitchen, Haruhi threw down the towel she was using to dry her hands and rolled her eyes. It was amazing that there was no one she knew who could do things by themselves without her.

She left the kitchen and passed her father, who was snickering like a school-girl under his breath. She ignored him until he pushed her towards the door.

He ran off somewhere in the house she when turned around. She opened the door, dreading seeing Tamaki at the front door. She hadn't felt the ambition to talk to him or her other friends after they talked so horribly about the twins.

The reason why that had angered her so much was a mystery. She almost felt embarrassed by it.

The door creaked open as her chest fell from a heavy breath, but that very breath caught in her throat as she stared into the eyes of who stood in the doorway.

"Hikaru?" she chocked. Her cheeks turned a whole other color.

He said nothing back, and looked away from her, as if that was his silent 'hello'.

"I uh..." Haruhi could barely form words. "I wasn't expecting... _you_."

He opened his mouth slightly, but she continued before he said anything.

"Well I wasn't really expecting anyone today, I just thought that... it wouldn't be you, I mean, you don't really come here and I-"

"I need to talk to you."

"-thought you wouldn't want to-..." she stopped. "...What?"

His forehead creased, his face was red, but not from embarrassment. "I need to talk to you." He repeated.

She cringed. "...Why?"

"Are you home alone?"

Haruhi thought of her eavesdropping father. "...Not really. Why? Is something wrong?"

"Yeah." his voice was near to a whisper. "Is there somewhere quiet?"

She looked around, before shutting the door behind her. She glanced over the balcony, towards her car, but avoided suggesting that. "Uh-" she tried to answer, but she didn't finish. He grabbed her hand and pulled her away from the door and the suspicious face that stared at them from the window.

Haruhi tightened her jaw, looking over her shoulder before she stumbled over her own feet. He pulled her down the deck, and down the stairs. She didn't know where he was taking her, but as he stopped to look around, she wasn't totally sure if he knew either.

He drug her down the stairs, and around the corner of the apartment complex. She was confused and wanted to rip her hand away from him, but curiosity overpowered the urge.

She gasped as he pulled her in front of him. They stopped and her back was pushed up against the back wall. The hard brick scratched her skin but the look on his face was too distracting for her to care.

"I..." she started. "I don't understand-"

His hands released her arm and the moment after, they were in her hair, pulling her forward. His arms encircled her, holding her body so close to his she could feel his warmth beneath his clothes. Her legs weakened as he buried his face in her hair.

There was silence, and it was both comfortable yet irritating. Hikaru's arms tightened around her shoulders, crushing her. He breathed deeply against her skin, and ruggedly exhaled, as if he was relieved. His hot breath sent shivered down her spine, and she fell, half limp against his chest.

"Hikaru," she breathed, her fingers curling into his sleeves.

"I can't stop thinking about you," he spoke. His whisper was dark and edgy, as if he was in pain.

She straightened her legs, but she couldn't move away. Her body was held in his vicelike grip, confining her. She didn't say, but he had been in her mind a lot more than she would have like for him to be.

"I need to be next to you or I go insane," he said, his lips scraping the side of her neck. "I don't want to. I want to stay away from you, but my nerves can't take it."

Haruhi almost forgot to breathe. She couldn't form the exact words she was thinking, or muster up a correct word for what she was feeling. Something firm, and striking kept her arms in place. It was a sensation so overwhelming, it made very nerve in her body tremble.

"Why did this happen?" her hair tangled between his fingers. "How did you do this to me?"

She tensed. "I... don't know."

She had no clue what he was talking about.

"Nothing makes sense anymore," he brought her skin between his lips, kissing it lightly.

She turned her face, as he kissed her neck, and kissing a small, invisible trail to her jawline. His hands cupped her face, as he kissed her cheek. Such a small touch was tingling, she closed her eyes, now hoping he'd ignore her presence, and the blush that shrouded her entire body.

His kissed her lips, at first It was tiny, featherlike and barely noticeable. Then he lost all common sense. He held her face, holding her as close as their bodies would let him. He kiss was firm, it was forceful, but she made no attempt to move away.

Her bottom lip slid between his teeth, and he slowly, he relaxed, he felt less fragile, and scared. His hands lost their grip, and his kisses lost their need. As it had done before, her touch soothed him. Her warm presence was a lullaby to his screaming conscience.

Why?

The pain was still there. The virus was never leaving, but she calmed him. His heartbeat slowed, and he felt less venerable. He felt as though she was made to fit right were she stood, against him, in the middle of his tiny circle.

He was upset that it felt so right.

She fidgeted and he pulled away. He rested his cheek against hers, breathing down the small cannel of the front of her blouse. There was a chill in the air, but they didn't feel it.

"Hikaru," she managed through a shaky breath. "What does this mean?"

His arms came around her shoulders, and he fell towards the wall, using it for well needed support.

"I don't know..." he was as clueless as her. "When I came... I was hoping this wasn't going to help."

She closed her eyes, feeling his entire weight against her, but she was comfortable. She didn't want to move, in fear he might change his mind and leave.

"It's cold," she laid against his shoulder. "But you're so hot..."

He knew why, but he didn't say.

"I don't know how I feel anymore," he admitted, she had never heard his voice sound so calm. "I don't want to like this, but I want you. I don't want to let you go."

Haruhi didn't move a muscle. "I still don't understand. You... didn't want me before."

"I know."

"Why did that change?"

"I don't know."

"...And what happens now?"

He hesitated. Up until this point was thought of. He left the mansion only coming here for on thing: Her touch. Everything else was a blurry mess.

"Be with me," he said, with lack of thought.

"Be with..." she paused. "...but, you don't want-"

"I avoided you for days," he complained, feeling comfortable with his face against her neck. "After this... I don't think I could handle being without you."

"I want you," he said again. "You don't have to... I'm asking."

She frowned, feeling so uncomfortable with his words. This was the same man who had thought nothing of her days before, it felt so unnatural, for him to be asking her anything.

"Would it mean anything to you if I said I liked you?" She asked.

He could almost feel his heart fall to the bottom of his stomach. "...I don't know why you would."

She smirked, her nose nuzzling into his hair. "My father would have a heart attack if he knew."

"You can't tell him." Hikaru said immediately. "...I don't want them to know."

She wasn't sure if she wanted him to know, either.

Her silence was taken as acceptance. A silent, yes.

Even if she wasn't particularly sure what she was saying, yes, to.


	22. Chapter 22

**Client-Interest**

* * *

What happened that day, was now a month behind them. Or rather, a total of twenty-five days behind them.

That day, it was so cold, but their heated bodies in the midst of such an awkward moment made the brisk chill unnoticeable. Not long, after another few hot, restless kisses did Hikaru and Haruhi separate themselves.

"I'm sorry," he had told her, in a breathless whisper. "This... was a mistake."

She was too caught up in her own thoughts to fully comprehend what he had said, and even less able to give him a response. Everything to him was probably a mistake. There was no telling what he really thought.

He didn't tell her he loved her, no. He didn't confess, nor did he even say he liked her. As much as she would have liked to hear that, all he said was that he wanted her. He wanted her to be with him, and he wouldn't be able to go another day without her.

Maybe that was even better to hear. He didn't want to let her go, and she wasn't sure if she wanted him to.

That very moment he pushed her against the wall, holding her to tight, and stuffing his face in her hair, breathing into her as if he was taking something away. It was all too much.

Was it selfish to want him to feel the same was about her as she did for him? Maybe he didn't want what she wanted.

Ever since then, the days that passed were filled with them meeting, being so close. They didn't speak of what they were doing, or what their relationship was, they were just together, and he was always kissing her, holding her.

He had a habit of smelling her hair, and kissing her neck. While he did so, she ignored his soft whispers of countless apologies and words relating to this all being a 'mistake', an 'accident', and every once in a while, he told her 'just one more time'.

And today, she awoke with his voice distant in her mind. She could have stayed in bed all morning thinking about him, if she hadn't needed to get up for work.

How could she feel this way about someone? She felt like she was walking on a cloud, being so lost in her own thoughts. She had been so lost that she had walking right into the corner of the wall while getting dress.

Was this what cloud-9 felt like?

Now, she stirred the cream into her coffee, miraculously managing a straight face.

"Haruhi?"

"Hmm?" she hummed.

"It's burning."

She looked over to the stove, and gasped. The egg-rolls she had set there on the burner, planning to only heat them up, were now sizzling to a crisp brown, and smoke arose from the sides of the pan.

Ryoji glanced sideways at his daughter, raising a knowing eyebrow as she turned the stove off and fixed her mess.

"You've been awfully strange these last few days, Haru," he admitted, sipping from his own cup. "Is something bothering you?"

"What?" her voice hitched, giving him a look of shock. "Why? for what?"

"...What?"

"Why would I be bothered?"

"It's just that," he looked down at her, noticing she was wasn't wearing shoes. "well... it's nothing really, but... you just seem distracted."

"Distracted?" she repeated, as if it were absurd. "No, I just... I've been thinking a lot. Job and stuff, do you want eggs?"

He shook his head, deciding to leave her alone. Of course he was worried about her. His darling little Haruhi, bumping into walls, forgetting to tie her own shoes, forgetting to brush her hair, or not paying attention to watch for on coming bickers when crossing the street.

Never had she been so out-of-it, so it was strange. He looked over his shoulder to make sure she wasn't doing something else he'd have to fix later. He fluffed up his hair and grabbed his purse, hopefully he'd be able to go to work and not come home with the apartment burned to the ground.

He was busy applying his makeup on in the mirror when there was a knock at the door. He sighed loudly, dropping his lipstick down into it's drawer.

What was it with people always wanting to see him right before he had to go somewhere? He never had his face on properly.

Ryoji barely had time to straighten out the front of his dress before the person behind the door started to jiggle the door knob, as if they thought they possessed an ungodly power that could open locked doors.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," he groaned. After having Hikaru come over that one time, taking his daughter and not bringing her back until a hour later, he really didn't know if he could trust anyone coming over. He peered out the peephole and rolled his eyes.

After a month, it was really only a matter of time.

He opened the door, immediately sticking his head out to glare at the blonde in the doorway.

"Go away," he said instantly.

Tamaki frowned. "It's nice to see you too, Ranka."

"Whada want?"

"Is Haruhi here?"

Ryoji scowled. "It depends on what you mean by that."

Tamaki blinked. "...Is Haruhi here? in this house?"

"I suppose."

The blonde stood up straight, biting his lip as if he was embarrassed. "...Would you mind if I came in to talk to her?"

The older man hesitated. "...I don't see why not. Is it just you?"

"Yes." Tamaki paused for a moment, frowning childishly. "Everyone else was too busy to come with me today."

Ryoji grumbled something under his breath as he opened the door. Tamaki took no time in slipping in through the door and it's frame to get inside quicker. Ryoji looked at her, and opened his mouth, but his watch gave off a strange 'beep' and he looked down to be told that he was already running late for his shift.

"I have to work," he said bitterly, "She's in the kitchen, she's acting strange today, so if she tells you to leave, you should probably do what she says."

Tamaki looked at him strangely, and was about to ask what he meant, but the door shut before he could get a word out. He turned to the kitchen, where he heard strange noises erode from. He was almost scared to look inside it,

"Ah!"

Until there was a tiny squeal that came seconds before a thundering crash did, of metal hitting the floor.

Inside the kitchen, Haruhi held her hand, staring at the mess of broken dishes on the floor. She looked around for the sink until she found it hidden behind a pile of dirty pots and pans. She held her hand under cold water, cursing herself for being stupid.

"Haruhi!" She turned to the walkway, where a voice yelled at her. That voice was so familiar, she shivered.

Tamaki nearly tripped as he ran into the room, his hair was tussled, and he looked at her with bubbling concern.

"Haruhi, daughter, are you alright? I heard your shout of distress!"

"Tamaki?" she exclaimed, puling her wet hand to her chest. "What the hell? What're you doing here?"

He looked down at the floor, gasping at the sight of broken glass.

"Watch out, Haruhi! You're barefoot!"

She looked down. "...I haven't moved, Tamaki."

"Don't worry, Haruhi! Daddy will come and get you! Don't move- Agh!"

Her mouth opened wide to tell him to watch out, but before she could, the blonde slipped on a piece of the broken dinner plate. She gasped and watched in horror as her friend made a dramatic spin and an ugly twirl on the shattered glass. She tried to shield herself, but his body had came tumbling towards hers, and soon she was pinned to the sink by his heavy body.

Tamaki looked down, seeing her face smashed against his chest. "Are you alright, Haruhi?"

"I was better before you showed up," she grumbled, "But I'm fine, so will you get off?"

"I heard you were in pain, I was making sure it wasn't tragic."

"No... I just burnt my finger."

He gasped, taking her hand immediately. "Is it bad? Should I call the Par-"

"Wrong hand," she snatched her hand away, holding up her right one. "It's fine. Now would you get off me? I have to finish cleaning."

He looked at the floor, and towards her bare feet. There was glass on the floor. She pushed him away but he gasped and snaked his hands around her waist. Lifting her off the floor.

He placed her on the countertop, staring at the cluttered floor again.

He looked at her, with a mixture of concern and disappointment.

"You need a maid, Haruhi." He said in a soft mumble.

She glared. "It's fine."

"Are you alright?"

"Yes, Tamaki."

He looked at her, then back to the floor. She was still propped up on the countertop when he turned around to the small supply closet. She watched him retrieve the broom and dustpan, and was silent as he started cleaning up the mess she had made. She tried to tell him that he didn't need to do that, but he wouldn't listen to her.

There was a strange uncharacteristic frown on his face, and he looked deeply worried about something. It had been a long time since they'd been away from each other, but it really had only been a few months since the host club members got back together, maybe she wasn't used to him yet, but she couldn't remember the last time he looked so deep in thought.

She watched him finish sweeping, and sat up straight once he looked back at her, as if he was a drill sergeant.

"Haruhi," he said at last. "...I didn't come here to clean-"

She glared. "I didn't ask you to."

"...I came here to apologize," he answered, sounding reluctant, as if he didn't want to apologize at all, "for what I said about your friends. I know you were mad at us for saying what we did, about them."

Haruhi tried to remember who he was talking about, and it took her a moment to remember what happened last month, as she had completely pushed the events to the back of her mind.

"You mean... about Hikaru and Kaoru?"

Tamaki turned away. "Right."

"If you're jealous of them Tamaki-"

"I don't get jealous!" He gasped. "I just wanted to make sure you didn't hate us for saying bad things about them. You're allowed to be friends with whomever you'd like, and... we shouldn't have tried to involve ourselves in your friendship with them."

She sighed, dropping down onto her feet from the counter. "It's okay Tamaki. I appreciate you looking out for me, but they aren't strangers, so don't have to be on my guard with them. They used to be your friends too."

"According to them we were never friends," he grumbled stubbornly.

"There's hard feeling between you guys," she shrugged. "But it has nothing to do with me. My friendship with them is okay. There's really nothing you need to worry about."

"Yeah," he gave in, but he wasn't agreeing with her. "They just can be really mean when they wanna be. I just want to make sure they're treating you nicely.

"Everything's fine," she assured him. "You don't have to have your guard up all the time. They're human like everyone else. Kaoru's too busy with his marriage to worry about me. And, Hikaru's..." she trailed off.

"...Hikaru's what?"

"Hikaru's just" she paused, trying to remember what she was going to say, but what she was going to say wasn't something she wanted to tell him.

"He's just..." _perfect_ "he's just has..." _everything I want_ "he's..." _so incredibly adorable._

She stopped, and look back at him. "Hikaru's strange, but he's nice. They've grown up from the kids you knew back then, so you don't have to worry about anything."

Tamaki frowned. The distant look on her face threw him off. There was something about her calm, reassuring voice that didn't sit well with him. Maybe the twins were taking his poor Haruhi for a fool.

"Right," he sighed. "I'm sure they have, Haruhi."

* * *

While there seemed to be a secret relationship budding between Hikaru and Haruhi, Kaoru wasn't having any such luck with his marriage. In fact, his own relationship had began to spiral in the opposite direction; downwards.

And it wasn't a pretty sight to seen...

After Kaoru had made it a pretty well known rule that Mayuki couldn't leave the house without him, she had stopped talking to him, ever less than before. She was sick constantly. No one knew if she waited past their 3 day period to hurt herself, or if she did it on purpose to hurt, Kaoru, but that wouldn't leave Kaoru with very many options on how to keep them both alive.

The day (a little less than a week ago) he found her behind a lock door, unconscious with a fever, was the day he decided that he couldn't do it anymore. It was the day he gave up all hopeless effort. He could care, but it wouldn't make a difference, or get through his wife's thick skull.

Now, Kaoru stood in the hallway, flinching as he heard another door slam.

He slumped his forehead against the frame, listening to whatever sounds came from the other side. Which just seemed to be restless pacing and things falling to the floor.

He thought he had good intentions. He just wanted to protect her, to stop her from hurting herself. He wasn't trying to keep her hostage, unlike she claimed. He just wanted to keep her safe from herself.

Maybe it upset her that he didn't trust her, but it was her own fault he felt that way.

But what feeling was worse than knowing you're not able to trust your own spouse?

He pull himself up, at the sound of footsteps behind him. He turned to see his brother coming out of his own hiding place, dressed with his hair done.

"Hikaru," he muttered a simple greeting. "Are you okay?"

Hikaru barely glanced at him. "...Why?"

Kaoru's expression faltered slightly, into a scowl mixed with annoyance and concern. "I haven't seen you in days."

Hikaru looked up at his brother again as he passed him, purposely brushing against his shoulder. "I've just ben out a lot."

He watched his older brother with a stern look, as if he was expecting him to say something that was being kept a secret.

"Is something wrong?" he asked as he watched his walk away.

Hikaru turned around. His face was calm as he raised his brow. "Yeah, why?"

"You just seem..." Kaoru paused, not being able to place the right words. "less... _dead_. What happened?"

"I'm _less dead_ and something automatically has to be _wrong_? shouldn't it be the other way around?"

"What did you do? Why do you look so _happy?"_

"I'm not happy, Kao. Believe me... I'm far from It."

Kaoru opened his mouth, to ask what he meant, but he didn't, as Hikaru started walking away. Maybe he'd pester him about where he was going when he got back, but it'd proce to be a waste of breath. He turned back to his wife's bedroom door before he decided just to go to his own. Eventually she'd have to come out for something and maybe he'd be able to sit down and talk to her.

Or maybe that would be pointless, too.

at the end of the hall, Hikaru glanced over his shoulder, checking to see if anyone was looking at him. No one was, so he reached into his pocket to check the time. There was a message sitting at the top of his scene. In tiny letters, it read that it was an emergency, and that he needed to be there.

He looked down at it for awhile as he walked. He knew it wasn't such a good idea, but there was a nagging feeling in his stomach. A selfish voice in his mind that would rather do what he wanted rather than do what was right.

He walked a little ways, until he absentmindedly walked into someone with his head bowed. He looked up to see who was in his path, but there was suddenly a sharp slap to his shoulder and he stumbled forward.

"Sup, Lover-boy."

He gasped. "...Grandmother!"

Kazuha smirked, lowering her hand. "Honestly, I didn't think you had it in you. I was beginning to think you were interested in _guys_."

He stood still for a moment. Not really understanding. His expression didn't falter. Then, he shoved his hands in his pockets, walking away again without a word.

"So... _Haruhi_ , huh?"

He stopped. Then, turned to her as she started to laugh. "I don't know what you're talking about," he argued.

His grandmother scoffed, fluffing up her hair as she looked at him, with a very un-ladylike chuckle.

"You don't have to play dumb with me," she shrugged. "Yazuha told me."

Hikaru was silent. He tried to figure out what she meant, but it didn't take him long. Soon, he stood there in shock with the realization of the situation. And in an instant, it felt as though the whole house was crumbling at his feet.

He turned to the corner where he heard a noise, and glared, blowing his cool.

"Mother!" he half shouted.

Yazuha popped her head out from around the corner of the wall, blinking innocently. "...Hikaru, darling, don't you think you're a little old to be yelling at your mother that way?"

"You told her?" He growled.

Again, she blinked. "Told who, what?"

He inhaled, pointing his finger towards his grandmother who started to laugh loudly. "You told _her_."

Yazuha raised her brow, pressing her lips together tightly so not to laugh at his ridiculous expression. "I'm sorry honey, I don't know what you're talking about."

His glare grew colder. "You just want me to say it. You told her about... Haruhi."

She hesitated, until her lips spread into a dark grin. "Oh... that. Well I thought you were kidding so I was passing it around as a joke."

His heart did a cartwheel in his stomach and he almost felt sick. "That wasn't a joke!"

"Oh, my bad."

"Mother!"

"So you really _are_ dating, Haruhi?"

"No!"

"So you were kidding?"

"No! None of this is a joke!"

"Make up your mind."

Kazuha finally stopped laughing as Hikaru's voice seemed to be getting louder the more he was teased.

"Down puppy," she snickered, patting his back, making him flinch from all his compressed frustration. "We're just messing with you. No one else knows."

He frowned, his voice turning more into a while as he looked at his mother. "I told you not to say anything."

Yazuha shrugged. "You told me not to tell, Kaoru."

Hikaru opened his mouth wide, as to argue, but he ran short of any words that would help him. He closed it again and stomped passed his grandmother, and made it a point to glare at his mother until she was out of his sight.

She laughed again, straightening her skirt. "He makes it so much worse than it really is."

Kazuha shook her head. "It's his fault for making it so much fun."

"I missed out teasing those two when they were in high school since they weren't interested in dating," she glanced over her shoulder, but her son wasn't there anymore, "and it's not fun picking on, Kaoru. Did you see the way he was blushing?"

"Considering the way those two act, I'd say they'll have babies before they're married."

"If that happened I don't want to be called grandmother. It's too much."

"To think I could be a great-great-grandmother before I'm eighty. That sounds rather cool."

"Did I tell you they got past second base?"

" **I heard that**!"

They stopped laughing.

* * *

Haruhi perched herself on a bench right outside the small coffee shop. There were noises behind her, and someone calling out to her, but she blocked them out as she glanced at her watch.

Was she being clingy? Did he think she was weird for asking him out here? She hadn't seen him in a few days, maybe he didn't want to see her anymore.

She looked over her shoulder to see if her acquaintance was paying attention, but he wasn't. He was more worried about the "commoner" slushies that were being sold at one of the stands. She breathed lightly, trying to feel less on edge.

He might.

...He's going to be mad.

He always gets mad.

Suddenly, there was a warm sensation on her shoulder as she gasped, feeling her heart nearly jumped out of her chest. She stood up, holding her hands up as if she was about to karate chop the thing that touched her.

The man standing above her looked down at her as if she were insane. And with the way she reacted, she felt as if she were.

"...What exactly were you expecting?"

She dropped her hands immediately, staring into hot, bronze eyes. For a moment she was speechless.

"Hikaru," she breathed, fixing her shirt. "I... I thought you weren't coming."

He raised his brow. "Did I tell you I wasn't?"

"...No."

"Then you should have been expecting me." he took her hand, he didn't wait for her approval for anything before he started to pull her closer. For a moment, she thought she'd land face-first into his warm chest, but he moved and she stumbled over her own feet.

Haruhi was about to say something, but when she opened her mouth, all that came out was a sharp gasp as he led her out of view of everything, and around the corner of the small building.

She tried to tell him to give her a chance to talk, but that attempt was soon lost as he pulled her close, sandwiching her, tight, between him and the wall.

Hikaru looked down at her, teasing a piece of her hair through his fingers. "This is really starting to get annoying."

Before she could ask what he was talking about, he shoved his hands into her hair, stuffing his face into the side of her neck. She quivered and nearly collapsed. His hot breath was quick to touch her skin, and travel down the back of her shirt.

This is what he always did. There was no "hello" when he first saw her, not a simple smile and a greeting. There was this. Him being as close to her bare skin as they could get, his hands in her hair, pulling her against him so tightly it almost hurt, and his mouth, always so close that his warm breath caused a shiver down her spine.

Hikaru cupped her face, pulling her away just far enough the tips of their noses grazed, yet he only gave her a moment to let her breathe before he brought their lips together in a hot, breathless kiss.

Haruhi's short nails dug into his shoulders, and just as he showed sighs of pulling away, her hands moved to the back of his neck. It amused her at how so little effort could keep him still.

Finally, after what seemed like minutes but was really maybe only one, Hikaru opened his eyes, resting against the soft skin of her neck. He nuzzled closer, smelling her scent. It was like fire, yet sour. Like the smell of burnt lemons.

His eyes closed again, laying his mouth on he, just smelling her scent he seemed to be addicted to. And thank god she interrupted him.

"You know, this isn't the sort of emergency I was talking about on the phone," she muttered, amusedly.

He raised his head. "...What?" He hadn't heard a word she said.

"I wanted you here for a reason."

"For what?" He grumbled.

Since they had been going behind everyone's back, and secretly seeing each other, they hadn't done anything special. They never did anything different from what they were doing now. That's not what he wanted, he didn't want a relationship. His only intensions revolved around what they already had.

Anything more would go against his whole plan.

"What reason?" he asked again when she didn't respond.

Haruhi wiggled away from him, receiving a beep growl of displeasure from him. "I'm afraid you'll get mad if I tell you."

He frowned. "Then we'll just leave and go somewhere else."

"But I need-"

"Haru-u-hi," a voice sang out. just as she started to say something.

She turned her head, then her eyes sowly traced back to Hikaru, where she watched the look of disbelief spread across his face.

She winched. "...Uh oh-"

"Haruhi!" Tamaki appeared, running into view from around the building. His hair was a mess, with looked to be a stranded leaf stuck in his bangs. He was panting, looking exhausted with worry.

Hikaru ripped himself away from her, making sure to take a big enough step to be out of her reach.

"You set me up," he hissed.

Tamaki stopped moving the second he saw his precious daughter beside a very familiar redhead. He opened his mouth, but the shock had drained the air from his lungs, that all that came out was a dry squeak.

He raised a shaky finger, his mouth was moving, but nothing came out. It was as though seeing her with Hikaru was a scene from horror film.

Haruhi looked at him, biting her lip. "Tamaki, you were supposed to stay-"

"Haruhi, there's one of them..."

Hikaru glared.

"...I know, Tamaki. I told you that I was-"

"... _It_ was touching you."

She sighed. "Are we going to have a problem? I just wanted-"

"We're not having a problem," Hikaru cut her off, "I'm leaving."

"Wait!" she grabbed his wrist before he could get any further from her. "Please, I just wanted us to talk about this. Don't go."

He turned to Tamaki. "You didn't tell me he'd be here."

Tamaki gasped, finally regaining his composure. "And you didn't tell me you'd bring him!"

Haruhi looked between the two of them, holding Hikaru's wrist tighter as he tried to pull himself away. What amused her was that he wasn't pulling very hard.

"Hang on," she made it a point to stand as a wall between one raging fire and a gallon of gasoline. "Don't be mad. I just wanted to clear things up. Maybe... I was thinking that we'd be able to be friends."

"Clear things _up_?"

"Be friends with _him_?"

"We were friends with him," Hikaru retorted. "There's a reason why we're _not_ now."

Tamaki huffed. "Friends? I believe there was a time in history where you clearly stated we were _never_ friends. Unless I had something in my ears."

"So all the faults on us then?"

"If the shoe fits."

"Guys," Haruhi intervened. "Is this necessary? Whatever made you guys mad at each is ten years in the past. You probably can't even remember what happened."

"Well I know one of us can't." Hikaru muttered.

Tamaki opened his mouth, ready to say something, but straightened up, remembering he was the gentlemen the situation and saying such things he had in mind was not good for his image, or for his beloved daughter to see.

He cleared his throat. "They vandalized the club room and scared our guests. They tarnished the Host club name, so they were asking to be kicked out. As a respectable club leader, I did what was right. Now... kindly step away from my, Haruhi."

Hikaru rolled his eyes at that. "You can have her."

Haruhi grabbed his arm again, pulling him back. "I want to settle this. We were all apart of the Host club at one point."

Tamaki looked down at her hand, that was clutched tightly around the wrist of one of the twins. He wasn't sure what they had been doing before he found them, but just seeing her close to him made him cringe.

"We might have been," he said finally, "but the Host Club wasn't for everyone. Inviting the twins made me realize that there are just some people we couldn't please."

Hikaru looked at him with a softer expression, but he said nothing.

"Tamaki..." she said softly. "You said the Host Club is family. Hikaru and Kaoru were apart of it, too."

The blond stared into her pleading eyes, ones he couldn't looked into directly without a pang in his chest. His lips moved, but nothing came out between them. He looked around, hoping that Kyouya might pop out from behind him and back him up, but there was no one.

"I think they made it very clear that they didn't want to be apart of it." He answered.

There was something itching in the back of Hikaru's throat, wanting to come out. He was on the verge of saying something, but kept it down. He had no problem being the bad guy.

"You were the reason why we left," he said, which was neither true or false.

Tamaki glared. "I don't remember us ever doing anything to you. You were just upset that the club wasn't good enough for you."

Hikaru ripped his arm from Haruhi's grasp and stepped closer to him. Tamaki was startled and started backing up. Looking at Haruhi to see if she was watching.

"Ah!" He flinched, "Anywhere but the face!"

Hikaru jerked his hand away from his face, and while Tamaki was a little taller than him, he still managed to make him stoop forward when he pulled him close. All the air had left Tamaki's lung as their faces were a mere few inches apart.

"There wasn't anything wrong with your club," Hikaru hissed, "you were the one who wasn't good enough for us."

He released Tamaki's quivering hand. "You probably still don't know who the hell you're talking to."

Tamaki grabbed his own hand, rubbing away any traces of his touch. He couldn't think of what to say, The twin's words left his speechless. He watched as he walked back to Haruhi and spoke out without thinking.

"Well... _Still_ , I don't approve of you being around, Haruhi, anymore. I know how you two are with people, and she isn't your _toy_."

Hikaru turned back to him. "...Oh?"

"She's... she's too innocent to be involved with your family."

Hikaru looked down at Haruhi, who was again at his side. She looked up at him curiously, wondering what he was thinking for that comment but his gaze instantly left hers and everted back to, Tamaki.

"Well... you'd be surprise at how much innocence we've already taken from her."

Haruhi's face shrouded in a dark crimson and she almost screamed from the embarrassment. But there was no time to even think about opening her mouth, when a hand snaked behind her head. Her lips were suddenly taken and locked tightly, and when she opened her eyes, she was horrified to see Hikaru kissing her.

A loud gasp could be heard behind them, and before Haruhi could react to the kiss, Hikaru's pulled away from her.

The smirk he sent towards Tamaki was chilling.

Even more chilling than the cold shoulder he gave her as he turned and walked away. He left, leaving a awkward silence in his wake.

With her mouth still open wide, Haruhi slowly turned, and her eyes met with Tamaki's. He seemed to be on the verge disintegrating away into dust.

"...Haruhi?"

She winced. "Yes, Tamaki?"

"...What did he mean by... taking away your innocence?"

She only had to look at him suggestively for a few seconds before he caught on to what she was telling him.

"Oh, Haruhi."

She looked away. "It... that's not important."

He turned to the wall. "...I'm not really sure what to think. I can't say that I... That I'm happy about this. I mean... I thought he was married, why did he-"

"Kaoru's married," she said with soft bitterness, "that was, _Hikaru_."

He sighed. He looked at the direction where Hikaru walked off, even if he was already gone. "I guess that's why he was so angry. They've always made it so hard to tell them apart. I'm afraid they do it on purpose to torture people."

Haruhi stood up straight. She planned to go after Hikaru, but that was an argument she was ready to have yet, so she turned to the other direction.

"It's not so hard," she said. "They're not _that_ identical."

 _They're... so different._

"...Does he always walk away like that?"

"Yeah... we're working on it."

He frowned. "What does _that_ mean? Who _is_ he to you?"

"No one, Tamaki." She shrugged, and turned away from him before he saw her smile. "He's just a client."

* * *

 **Sorry this chapter took so long. It's kinda big. I'm sorry.**

 **Everything that happens in this chapter is for plot purposes. For instance, the Host Club not being able to figure out which twin is who. And Kaoru being... possessive, over his wife. Please don't Hate Kaoru. I'm abusing his and Mayuki's relationship a bit, but I promise it will al make sense if it doesn't already.**

 **Well, thank you for reading! If anything doesn't make sense about the story feel free to tell me so and I'll try to make it clearer. Of if the editing sucks. Thanks for reading kitties, and I hope I'll be able to update again soon. I'll try to make the Month of May full of updates and hope to finish some of my stories by then. :)**

 **-Kc495**


	23. Chapter 23

**Your Silent Pleas**

* * *

"Check mate, my dear."

Kazuha groaned. Watching her husband knock her king off the board. Her narrowed eyes followed up his arm to glare at him in the face. But her sour expression was given a soft laugh in return.

"I hate chess anyway," she grumbled, piling the very few pieces she stole from him, back on the board.

"You were the one who said you'd beat me this time."

"Well I'm _bored_ ," she defended. "There's nothing to do anymore. Being retired is so boring."

"You could just enjoy-"

"Let's go break something."

He let out a tired breath. "I find cross words to be more enjoyable."

"That's cause you're an old coot who doesn't know any better."

"Yes dear, but wouldn't it be nice for a change to take our age into consideration? This is precisely why your motor-bike was confiscated."

She looked away, frowning. Now that she was simply just an old lady, occasionally taking trips to the school to give wise comments to students at the Ikebana school that was ran by the family. There was really nothing to do, and the boredom was killing her.

"In a way," he murmured, "it's good that it's boring. Means there's nothing to worry about."

She grumbled.

Then, as if on cue to cure the silence that had fallen between them again, noise had came blaring from the television that was once quiet with a jabbering weatherman.

" _And for our breaking news_ ," the woman on the scene piped up, " _The man and Woman that were seen escaping from Kyorin University hospital over a month ago, still have not been found. The man is to believed to still be extremely ill, and witnesses say the woman with him - Haruhi Fujioka - was deliberately trying to break the patient out of the hospital_."

The two elders in the room fell silent as a picture of Haruhi showed up on screen. The woman explained that it was blurry from the security cameras. Then another photo appeared, one of her and a bright haired man in a wheelchair.

Kazuha only had to look at the man's head for a moment before she began chocking on her tea.

"Holy crap, that's Hikaru."

Her husband looked at it. "Are you sure?"

Kazuha rolled her eyes, handing him his glasses.

"See?"

"No dear, that couldn't be Haruhi, she's far too classy. Hikaru maybe, but Haruhi couldn't-..." He slipped his glasses on. "Oh my, it is Haruhi! They're on the news."

"That fool," she swore under her breath, "Way to make things suspicious, Hikaru. Escaping from a hospital. _Extremely ill_ too, what the hell did they find out?"

Her husband shrugged. "This makes things a tad more interesting, doesn't it?"

"I couldn't have _one_ smart grandchild. If they had been girls things like this wouldn't happen."

"I'm sure they wish they were girls sometimes, too."

* * *

Haruhi raised her fist to the door, but after a moment of second thoughts, she lowered it again.

 _No, I have to say something._

She raised her hand again, inching her fingers to the wood, but again, for the third time, she hesitated and dropped her hand to her side.

 _I shouldn't even be here. He's probably still mad at me._

 _But... I still need to see him. I'll keep it completely professional. He's still my client and I'm just his lawyer._

 _I'll just try to forget all the times we've kissed or the time we made love in my car._

She groaned, raising her hand to the door again.

I'm not professional at all.

Her hand rapped softly against the door. The afternoon sun battered down on her shoulders as she waited for someone to answer. The gardener glanced at her, with weeds still in hand. He had a suspicious look on his face as he listened to her talk to herself.

He thought about the strange family he worked for and decided that that wasn't the strangest thing he'd seen and casually went back to work.

I'm so stupid, of course we couldn't be friends. We've done so may awkward things together, and certainly we're not a couple. I shouldn't have even thought about bringing them together. Now they're both mad at me. Why can't I just butt out of stuff?

"Ma'am?"

Haruhi froze, and when she looked up, a maid stood in the doorway, holding the door while open.

"...Are you alright, Lady, Haruhi?"

She blinked. "...Lady?"

The maid giggled. "You don't think everyone knows who you are? Are you here to see Mr. Hitachiin?"

Haruhi raised her brow at the maid's suggestive wink.

"Well uh... yes, actually, but it's about business. Is he... here?"

The petit maid chuckled, almost evilly, before she stepped out of the way.

"Yes, and _no_ ," she answered. "You can come in. He's just in the living room."

Haruhi didn't say anything else as the maid led her into the open foyer. She looked around, catching other maid's eyes. They all share a few secret whispers and giggles as she passes them and she was half tempted to ask about it all, but suddenly she was alone in the living room, with her guide pushing at her shoulders, shoving her more into the room.

"But... where is everyone?" she frowned, speaking even if she knew she was the only one listening. "He isn't in-"

She cut herself off as she turned and noticed something on the couch. She held her breath, trying not to make a sound as she saw what exactly that ' _something_ ' was.

It was Hikaru, sprawled out, saying nothing, with his elbow draped over his face.

Haruhi just looked at him. It was evident that he was oblivious to her presence.

"Um... Hik-er... Mr. Hitachiin?"

He didn't reply.

She continued to stare at him, waiting for a response. After a few moments, she called out to him again, but still, he didn't make a sound.

Knowing that she should just leave, and come back another time, she looked over her shoulder and took a step back, but she remembered the paper in her bag and slowly made her way to the couch.

She swallowed, going to him, her shoes like feathers against the floor.

 _Is he... sleeping?_

She peered at him from above. She looked around, searching for someone else of the family to talk to, but there was no one around. She turned back to Hikaru, but he still hadn't moved.

Inching towards him, Haruhi gave his arm a light poke.

"Hikaru," she said his name again, biting her lip. There was that one time in her car when she had woken up during the early morning and saw him sleeping, but it was dark and couldn't see his face. Now, if she woke him up in another one of his bad moods, it'd make their situation worse.

She shook his arm, but even then he barely budged.

"Wake up," she shook him again, with a grumble. "Why don't I ever have your attention when it's something important?"

Finally, his arm moved from his face, but that was all she got out of him. His hand fell to his chest and he let out a breath. She pull herself away from him, waiting for his eyes to open, but they stayed shut.

"It's past noon," she scolded, "wake up."

She looked down at his chest, watching his deep, heavy breathes. Her eyes traveled to his lips, when she noticed that he was breathing heavily from his lips. It was as if it was hard for him to breathe.

Biting her lip harder, she reached over to swipe his bangs away from his face. It was then she got a feel of his hot forehead.

Ignoring all sense of one's personal space, her fingers trailed down his flushed cheeks, outlining his jaw. She cupped his cheek, staring at his closed eyelids.

 _I wish we could get along better..._

"...He's beautiful, isn't he?"

"Yeah..."

After hearing a laugh behind her, Haruhi shot up, her mouth wide open in embarrassment.

"I... I mean, not that I-... I didn't mean it that way, I... I was just..." she rambled off, meeting Kaoru's gaze immediately. "Uh..."

Kaoru looked down at her, grinning. "I was talking about myself, but if you really think that way, I'm sure he'd be flattered."

She blushed, standing up. "Sorry... I needed to talk to him, but he's asleep. I think I'll just come back tomorrow."

"It's fine," he shrugged. "We've all been poking fun at him all morning, you wont wake him up."

"All morning?"

He looked down at his brother, and his grin faltered to something more solemn. "He sleeps a lot when given the chance. He came in here yesterday, ranting about something. I haven't talked to him since."

Haruhi brushed the back of her fingers against Hikaru's warm cheek, but she quickly pulled her hand away as she remembered Kaoru was watching.

She stood up, clearing her throat. "I should go. If you could pass a message on to him when he wakes up-... Cause I have to be at a meeting and-"

"What did you come here to talk to him about?"

"Nothing," she said to fast, causing her words to come out with a choke. "Just... he has a hearing, that's all."

Her cheeks were flushed and he stared at her with wide eyes. "...Did something happen?"

She scoffed. "Why would you say that?"

"Just curious," he looked perturbed, and his furrowed brows and puckered lips showed almost exactly what he was thinking. "Did Hikaru do something?"

"Well I mean, he _did_ commit several misdemeanors."

"But... did he do something to _you_?"

"Why would you say that?"

"You look really red all of a sudden." His look turned to a smirk that was obviously rather amused. "I mean, he's sleeping but he can be a bit of a perv, so I wouldn't put anything passed him."

Haruhi covered one of her cheek with her hand and looked back down at Hikaru's sleeping face. She had to bite her lip to keep from laughing at the comment. To be fair, on some occasions, he could be a _bit_ of a pervert.

"No," she shook her head, dropping her hand to her side. "He didn't do anything."

He blinked, watching his brother breathe deeply, listening to that, and Haruhi. "...Are you laughing?"

She shook her head again but had to struggle to hide her ridiculous smile. "Do you know how long he'll be sleeping? I wanted to ask him something, too."

Kaoru rolled his eyes between her and his brother, frowning. "Well... he's been like this since yesterday, so... _no_."

"He'd been sleeping since _yesterday_?"

"Well... that's what I said."

"I didn't think you really meant he's been _sleeping_ that long..."

His shoulders fell in disappointment. "Yeah. He was mad yesterday, but then he just fell asleep. He was talking about something about the Host club, but wouldn't say what happened, so... that's why I was asking."

Suddenly, Hikaru's words from yesterday, about her innocence being tainted, enter her mind and remembers the face he was making after kissing her in front of Tamaki.

She chuckled. "Yeah, he's such a child."

His face was starting to ache from his face changing so much in so little time, because now he looked annoyed again.

"Something did happen, didn't it?" he grumbled. "Why are you so different with him now?"

She straightened her face. "I don't understand what you mean."

"You used to talk to him with so much formality because you were afraid he'd get mad at you. What's changed between you guys?"

"Nothing."

But just then, there was a rustle coming from the couch and in-sync, they turned to it. Hikaru was sitting up, and they held their breath as he sat there, saying nothing.

His hair was a tousled mess, and his shirt was wrinkled. He sniffed something but didn't move, and the two who were looking continued to look at him in wonder. Kaoru (being the one who had throw a verity of things at him while he was sleeping earlier) stepped back, but Haruhi stepped closer, still attempting to confront him.

Hikaru took a deep breath, and his exhale sent a chilling shiver down Kaoru's neck. He was sure his brother was angry.

Until he noticed his eyes were closed.

Haruhi swallowed the air she held and opened her mouth, but she closed it again before she said anything, watching him rub his hand under his nose.

She took another step closer, stretching her finger to touch his shoulder. "...Um... Hika-"

She nearly jumped out of her own skin when his hand moved and grabbed her wrist. Kaoru sunk away further into the background to silently delete himself from the situation before he would get involved.

Haruhi tried to pull her wrist out of his grasp, but even if Hikaru wasn't looking, his grip tightened. It was so tight she saw the veins in his hand.

"Er... Hikaru?"

"Found it."

"...Huh?"

She squealed as he pulled her towards him. She stumbled until her feet completely feet left the floor and her upper half fell onto him on the couch. Soon her face was pressed against his collarbone in a crushing embrace, leaving her entirely immobile.

Hikaru pressed his nose into her hair, pulling her even more onto the sofa with him. His hot breath was tingling and instantly she tried to wiggle away.

She found that to be almost impossible.

"Hey, come on, let go."

He laid back into the pillows, holding her in the tight circle of his arms and his chest, but still she fought with him, trying to get away.

Kaoru blinked. "...uh... should I leave you two alone?"

"No, wait, Kaoru help me."

"Well geez Haru... I don't think I should disturb him. I think he's still sleeping."

Haurhi tried to pry away Hikaru's hands around her waist, but his grip wouldn't move. She felt his lips against her neck and suddenly her blood ran cold.

"Come on Hika, not here, let go!"

Kaoru made a face. "...Where else would you prefer he do this?"

"I'm not trying to be funny, Kaoru. Get him off me." She pouted.

Hikaru shushed her, his mouth against her ear, and she heard him inhale again. Then, he squeezed her again, they were so close and so tightly knitted together that he could have became her second skin.

She whined, tipping her shoulder to cover her neck from his hot lips. "Okay, I'm sorry for touching you, but this is just awkward."

Kaoru watched his brother, he looked no different, but there was something off. "Um, Haru..."

Haruhi glared, it was an effort to breathe with the pressure he held on her chest. "Hikaru, let go."

"Haruhi, I think you should get away from him..."

"Can't you see I've been trying to do that?"

He shifted on his feet anxiously. "There's... something about him that isn't right."

"Yeah, I've _noticed_ ," she grumbled, pushing her hand against Hikaru's chest. "Now let go, I have to go somewhere."

Hikaru made a sound that was vaguely similar to a dog growling in displeasure, and he rolled over, taking her with him. His heavy body pinning her between him and the couch.

Her cheeks blazed with embarrassment. She stopped trying to move away from him as his bangs fell in front of her face, and she watched him breathe through his mouth.

He was obviously awake, but when he opened his eyes, they weren't the same color she remembered. They were green. It was almost a mistake for making eye contact with him, because she couldn't stop looking at him. He looked straight at her, but something in his eyes moved like smoke trapped in a tiny bottle. Green smoke.

She pressed her body into the cushions, getting away from him. Her words caught dead in her throat and the cold, emotionless look on his face froze her in fear.

"Uh," she gripped the couch, her voice shaking. "This isn't normal..."

"Haruhi get away from him!"

"Ah!"

Kaoru finally intervened as Hikaru's face neared her neck. He got between them, but finding that pulling his twin off her was impossible, he pulled them. Haruhi held her eyes shut, and when she opened them, Hikaru was being restrained to the floor and her face was smashed against the rug.

She gasped, lifting herself up the moment she regained her senses. She stood up to see Kaoru sitting directly on top of Hikaru.

"Wha..." she crawled backwards until her back hit the edge of the table. "What _was_ that?"

Kaoru looked at her, he opened his mouth, saw the terror on her face, then suddenly couldn't face her.

This never happened before. There was always something wrong with them, but never had it changed them like that. Hikaru wasn't even under the influence of someone else's blood. His skin shouldn't be on fire this way. His eyes shouldn't change colors.

"No," he managed through his bursting nerves. "He doesn't... this isn't normal. This never happened before."

Hikaru hissed, wincing his discolored eyes closed, tight, as if he was in pain. Kaoru released his hands on his wrist as he covered his face, tensing his fingers against his forehead.

"It's okay, Hika," he touched his cheek, "You're okay, just calm down. Stop stressing yourself out like this. Where's your medication?"

Haruhi watched Kaoru soothe his hair, trying to calm down Hikaru's vicious breathing. There was those few moments when he stared at her with unsteady eyes. Her heart hadn't stopped pounding since he grabbed her.

And this time, when she looked across the floor to him, she knew there was something wrong. He was in pain. The way he grasped Kaoru's wrist said something hurt. And from the way Kaoru's hand was turning an unsettling shade of pink, whatever that was, it hurt a lot.

Her mind traced back to over a month ago, when she watched him rip his IV's from his arm, still immobile in a hospital bed.

 _"There isn't a cure, they can't help."_

When his eyes stared at her deep in desperation.

 _"I can't stay here... they'll make me more sick than I already am."_

She thought about that time she came to the mansion and watched a doctor leave, leaving medication.

 _"I can't give him medication for something that isn't an illness."_

Why...?

Kaoru was placed his hand over his brother's fist, smoothing out his hair with his other in attempt to comfort him.

There was something so wrong, and so utterly terrifying that she was afraid to ask what it was.

This wasn't the same Hikaru who she kissed in the bushes, or threw mud at.

Why did she feel like this was someone entirely different?

Why did she feel betrayed?

After not making a sound, Kaoru looked up at her, his eyes showing all the pain his twin felt.

"I'm sorry, Haruhi," he said quietly, "He... didn't mean to do that."

She shook her head, still trembling in shock. After a moment she swallowed her nerves.

"Why did that happen?"

He averted his gaze back to his twin. When he pulled his hand away from his cheek his palm was drenched in sweat.

He sighed. "...I think you should go home."

Haruhi flinched. "But-"

"He's not stable, Haruhi. If you stay here he might hurt you," he said more firmly. "And I can't promise that he wont."

That was something she could argue with, but the look on his face wasn't. And before he could tell her twice, she left.

* * *

"Young master!"

Umehito gasped as his cards fell out of his hand across the bed spread beneath him. He turned around to the doorway, where a maid had suddenly appeared.

"What?" he grumbled.

"Umehito, sir," she gasped. "May I speak with you?"

"No."

"But sir, it's urgent."

The blonde turned, gesturing his hand towards his little sister who laid in the bed.

"Can't you see I'm in the middle of something? Can't it wait?"

She opened her mouth. She turned to Kirimi who was tucked in, eyeing her older brother's fortune telling cards with wide eyes. A cloth was stilled draped over her forehead from her fever earlier and she still had yet to show any signs of getting better.

The maid looked between the two siblings, biting her lip anxiously, but alas, her heart gave out and she sighed.

"Yes sir," she bowed, "it can wait. But... I'd really like to talk to you about it."

"Then later," Umehito answered, turning back to his sister, who grinned when he looked back at her.

With that, the maid sighed again and quietly shut the door behind herself, grumbling about how much of a fool her master was.

"Did you tell him?" A butler said behind her. He had been waiting outside the door since she ran off out of the room they were working in.

"No," she exhaled, with the knob still in hand. "I think he's avoiding me on purpose."

He looked down in thought. They were both silent until he finally piped up again.

"We'll just do it ourselves."

She looked at him. "But he might get upset with us."

"By any chance she's not it, what damage will it do?"

"...I suppose you're right."

He looked at her face, and saw uncertainty.

"Young mistress Kirimi was already born with a weak heart, and the curse doesn't help. If we can help it, Master Umehito couldn't be mad."

"Yes, I know."

"It'd be unfortunate if the same thing is happening to that woman."

"Yes, it would be."

"...So shall we?"

"We might as well."


	24. Chapter 24

**Losing You**

* * *

Kaoru stared at his brother from a seat away. His face was stretched in a gloom expression as he slumped over the edge of the dining table.

Hikaru held his face in his hands, barely saying a thing.

It had been hours since Haruhi left, and it wasn't too long ago that they managed to get Hikaru's condition under control. They were left with the aftermath of the attack, which left the older twin nearly immobile with fatigue.

A maid placed down a glass of water and Kaoru pushed it towards his brother, in attempt to get him to take his medication, in hopes to help him, but he wouldn't take it.

The maid watched them for a moment, before escaping to the kitchen where gossip started to unreel.

Kaoru breathed. "...I've never seen anyone act like that before."

"...I don't know what happened."

"I don't think anyone does."

Hikaru dropped his hands. His voice was husky with exhaustion. "My head hurts."

He didn't remember anything. What he remembered was coming home, irritated that Haruhi set him up to meet Tamaki. He remembered sitting down on the couch, not realizing that he was falling asleep. Then he woke, a day later, to see his brother on top of him, pinning him to the floor.

Anything between that was a complete blank.

"I've never done what you did," Kaoru muttered. "You must've still been asleep, but... you shouldn't have been able to do that."

Hikaru laid his head on his arms. He still felt sick, and so tired. As if he didn't spend those last twenty-four hours sleeping. He felt as though he hadn't slept in days. His body was so weak it was a wonder how he was even sitting up.

"What's all this I hear in the kitchen about you turning into a demon?"

Kaoru turned his head at the sound of his grandfather's voice. The old man stood in the doorway, looking none-the-less displeased. His gray, hairy eyebrows were furrowed and Kaoru cringed at his uncharacteristic scowl.

"Boys, I think we should talk."

Hikaru groaned, hiding his face back into his arms

Their grandfather took a seat that sat across from them and the silence along with the look he gave them made Kaoru sink deep into his chair. The last time their grandfather was mad at them was when they were pulled out of high school for getting into a fight.

Even if this wasn't nearly as bad as a fifteen-year-old boy involved in a fist fight with a middle school student, he still looked rather peeved.

"Hikaru," he started, "I can't say I'm particularly proud of the way you're handling this."

"It wasn't his fault, grandfather-"

"I'll get to you next."

Kaoru quietly silenced himself.

Hikaru sat up straight, but his gaze was focused on the glass of water beside him to avoid his grandfather's lecturing eyes.

He opened his mouth. "I-"

"If you think using your ability to scare people away is how you're going to protect them, you're going about it wrong, Hikaru," the old man rebuked. "The whole purpose of keeping it a secret is so people aren't afraid."

Hikaru thought of his reply too late that he was cut off again.

"I know why you don't want to get close to anyone, and you're in a scary situation but do you honestly want this to be the side people base their impressions of you on? Pushing people away isn't going to get you what you want, and doing things like this doesn't look good on your already bad reputation."

"It's her fault..." Hikaru answered dryly.

"We all know who's fault this was, but you can't keep using the curse as an excuse to wreak havoc. Fumiko didn't even intend for this to happen."

"Fumiko intended us to be miserable and for everyone to hate us."

"But you don't have to encourage that."

"If we know why I want to be alone why are we talking about it?" His voice hitched with suppressed anger. "If Haruhi would mind her own business I wouldn't have done that. It's her fault."

His grandfather sighed, rubbing his fingers into his brow in exasperation. "Again, Hikaru, acting this way towards her isn't right. You may think that since you don't have to live with the consequences you can do whatever you want, but it wrong."

"Don't act this way because you think you have to," he added. "You decided what you wanted to happen and no one's going to interfere with that," he looked at Kaoru, especially as he said this, "No one's going to decide for you, but isn't there better things you can do with your little time left than spreading fear because you want to be left alone?"

"It happened by accident," Hikaru swore.

He looked up at his brother, waiting for him to back him up, but Kaoru said nothing.

"It's because of, Haruhi," he continued, in a soft grumble. "There's something about her. When she's too close things start happening. And she won't leave me alone."

The old man closed his eyes. They had a brief talk about the curse and what would happen to them if they found that "special" person, and while Kaoru figured that out for himself not long after his wedding, Hikaru still must be vaguely ignorant.

"And you do know what that means, don't you?"

"No."

"Well, Hikaru-"

"No." Hikaru stood up. "That's crap. I'm not talking about this anymore."

Kaoru looked up at the sound of his chair scraping the floor. "Is fighting this even worth it?"

"Like you said, I already decided what I wanted to do, stop trying to set me up with her. It's all her fault that weird things like that happen. She's poison."

"The curse was made to make us less human as we could possibly feel," their grandfather said over his grandson's booming voice. "Like dogs, we're attracted to certain things, like scents. The more you like someone the stronger their scent becomes to you. That's what makes us tempt them. That's what she's doing to you."

"I don't like her!"

"That's not what your mind thinks, apparently."

Hikaru glared.

"She's your lawyer, and whether you like it or not, she's still going to need to be around until you fix what you did. And just so you know, Hikaru, those scents don't go away, they only get harder to control, as do those "things" that happen when you're around her."

When he looked back at him, his eyes were strict.

"So what are you going to do?"

Hikaru didn't answer right away.

He didn't want to be in love. That was the very thing he was running away from. He had been in love before and that was a mistake. It wouldn't be so hard to run away if he didn't fall in love so easily. What is it about her? Even when he was with Ren, he never acted that way before. He never changed that way before. His brother had been in a relationship far longer than he had, why hadn't he changed like that?

What made her so special?

And why was he so important to her? Because no matter, if he ran away or not, she'd come after him.

What do I care for?

Many things went through his mind as he held eye contact with his grandfather, but the moment the solution came up, he immediately looked elsewhere.

"Tsk," he finally replied. "I decided what I wanted, and she's interfering with it. It's not my fault she saw what she did, though I doubt she cares about that anyway."

Kaoru watched him walk away, leaving what he said in his wake. He could almost feel the tension leave the room the very moment he did, but obviously, that wasn't the only problem.

"He doesn't understand."

Kaoru looked back at his grandfather.

"He's always been stubborn, but even if he denies it you can clearly tell just by looking at him, that he's scared," he let out a breath, watching the features on his grandfather's face scrunch. "He likes Haruhi a lot, but he won't admit that, or he plain just doesn't want to except it. After Remiko, he said he wasn't going to like anyone else, but... now that he does, he's scared."

He paused to think about his own situation. One that wasn't something he wanted to brag about.

"Not that I blame him," he sighed. "Relationships aren't exactly a walk in the park."

"Which brings us to you," the old man knitted his brows at his youngest grandson. " Where's your wife, Kaoru?"

"Honestly, I'm really tired of being asked that," Kaoru threw himself to the back of the chair. "No matter what, I never have an answer that makes everyone happy. If she's running around Bunkyo by herself they wonder why I don't keep closer tabs on her. If she's in her room, they want to know why I'm keeping her hostage. So what's it matter where she is? Either way, she'd rather be there than with me."

"It would be fine if you acted like the victim, but Kaoru... it doesn't really seem that way sometimes."

On the outside, it was silent, but on the inside a sound echoed within Kaoru, and it was a switch being flipped, and he was instantly offended.

He gave out of huff, one that sounded like an exasperated laugh.

"Don't I get enough of this from my in-laws?"

"Kaoru, your in-laws had you arrested because they thought you were holding Mayuki here against her will. Now... you're kinda are."

"I'm not doing this because I want to. If I don't do something..." Kaoru paused, lowering his voice. "Whenever she leaves she hurts herself. She won't listen to me, so what else am I supposed to do? I'm responsible for her, I can't just let her kill herself."

"Granted... she isn't going to like you any more than she does now if you forbid her from leaving."

"She won't like me at all if we're dead."

Meanwhile, at the Nekozawa residents, things weren't exactly as tense as they were at the Hitachiin's, but they weren't easy either.

"Has he answered yet?"

Minori held a finger up, shushing her partner in their innocent crime they were strictly forbidden to engage. She held her phone to her face, waiting to be taken off hold.

Their boss, Nekozawa, had found out long ago from their constant, about their intentions and what they were doing. He strongly disapproved of them searching for that "missing relative" they read about, knowing that that relative was a female and fearing that it would just be more stress on Kirimi about what was going to happen to her, but still, they had gone behind his back and continued to look anyway.

Jurou made a face, pacing the floor behind her, rubbing his chin for hard he was sure his finger was shaving it.

They had called many numbers, but they either belong to relatives or the people who answered, couldn't answer their questions.

In other words, the quest was taking more out of them than what they were receiving back, and they were losing hope that they would even find this relative.

"Uh-.. er, yes sir, Sato Minori... um, no..." Minori muttered into the phone, using her other hand to grasp her sleeve. "Yes, Mr. Aki. Aki Nekozawa, is he... uh huh."

Jurou watched her talk anxiously into the phone, straining her fingers into the fabric of her sleeve. She was blushing, having to say everything twice so the old, so that the old people who answered, could hear her.

He opened his mouth and was about to tell her to give up for today but he was cut off as she gave a sudden squeal.

"I got in!" She bit her lip as she squeaked. He blinked, as her eyes were only on him for a brief moment before she turned to the curtains, listening to a man on the other side of the line.

"Who is this?" The said old man asked, and his growl vibrated in the speakers.

"Thank goodness," Minori breathed, "Sir, you have no idea how long I've waited to-"

"Out with it, girl, I don't have time to hear you chatter. What is it?"

She swallowed, having the air forced from her lungs. "Um... I... I just-"

"You just want? From what I hear you've been trying to contact me all evening, you'd have thought that when I rejected your first attempt to talk to me you'd have figured out that I'm busy."

Soon, the poor maid was suffocating herself. Her chest felt as heavy as though someone was standing on it and it took another outburst from the old man to get her to talk again.

"I'm sorry," she gasped. Working in a house run by very quiet people, she was unsure what to do when being yelled at. "Mr. Nekozawa, I just wanted to ask you a couple of questions, if... that's all right."

Having heard the aggravated tone of the old man, Jurou shook his head, waving his hand in front of his neck, silently telling her to just cut the call.

Minori gave him a look, and to her, he just looked like an idiot.

As Aki said something else through the phone, her attention was drawn back to him and from his booming voice, her heart nearly jumped out of her chest.

"Yes, sir!" she accidentally said in a loud voice, so intimidated that she had no control over her voice.

"What questions did you have?" He was frustrated that he had to repeat himself.

He was fully aware of the problems that went on in the Nekozawa's family, but even so," Jurou though, for an old man who was almost eighty years old, he sure had a nice set of vocal cords.

"You see, um... sir, Aki- or... Nekozawa, sir. I wanted to ask you about... about someone that you might know..."

There was another vibration in the speakers as he breathed, and that sent a cool shiver down her spine.

"About a... Miss Kazue?"

"Who?"

"Miss Kazue. I'm sorry, I don't know her family name but I was curious if you remember her?"

"Remember who? Kazue? I've never heard of that name before in my life. Is this what you wanted to talk to me about? A woman?"

"Well, you see, we've been searching for her and I thought that you might know if she might still be living and if so, if you might know where she'd be living... Um... Mr. Nekozawa, sir?"

She flinched, hearing a loud slam from the other side of the phone, and the sharp beep the phone gave as the call was ended.

Minori looked down, watching the number flicker on the screen in, utterly devastated.

She turned to Jurou. "...He hung up on me."

He came up to her, patting her shoulder. "He didn't seem very nice to talk to anyway."

"What are we supposed to do now? Aki's the only one who would know about her," she frowned, "If we can't find her than we can't find her daughter, and if we can't find her daughter how do we find... them?"

"Min," he answered softly. "You know that there isn't any way that Kauze's daughter is still alive. That's impossible. That was no long ago."

There was a small bubble of silence that sat in the room, just between them, but after several moments, Minori revived.

"I'll just call him again," she piped, going for the phone's keyboard until the whole thing was plucked out of her reach.

Jurou shook his head. "No more for today, you'll lose your head over this.

"But I have to. If I wait too long I might be put on hold again."

"No more with him. He won't cooperate. We'll find some other way."

Minori watched as he pocketed her phone into his jacket and sighed. He was right, she didn't want to be yelled at any more than she had already been, that day anyway. But then again, there was nothing else she had to go on. No leads, and no other way for her to be able to locate Miss Kazue.

"Maybe..." she muttered at last. "Maybe he was having a bad day."

He was half tempted to slap her hand as she reached for her phone. "No. Have you eaten today?"

"What's that got to do with anything? Give it back."

"I'm thinking maybe... chicken with Tonkatsu sauce."

"Jorou, give me the phone. I have another number I want to try." She tried to grab the phone pocket, but he swiftly grabbed it and held it out of her reach.

"Do you prefer Ginger Rice on the side or should we splurge and buy Anpan?"

Minori grumbled, dropping from her tiptoes. "I'm not hungry. I have work to do."

"And does that work involve folding sheets? Or organizing the library, like you said you were going to do?"

"...I meant to get to those things."

He gave her a disapproving look, as he held the phone even higher out of her reach, even if she wasting reaching for it anymore.

She glanced over her shoulder, glaring at the wall with the window. She forgot all about her phone when her eyes caught sight of the phone that was connected to the wall.

She waited a moment, switching her eyes from him to the phone, and it only took a moment to realize what she was thinking. Jurou dropped her phone and grabbed her around the waist before she could run to the other phone.

Minori squealed as he held her off the ground.

"Prune juice would be nice with the chicken."

"Jurou, put me down!"

And so, while ignoring her protests, he managed to drag her out of the room, even if she tried hard not to be taken. Her grip on the doorframe was tight enough that she almost took the whole door with her when they left.

* * *

Quietly shutting the door, Mayuki, held her breath as she stepped into the back foyer. She kicked off her shoes so not to make a sound as she stepped across the tile, but even so, her feet sticking to the floor seemed to echo in the nearly empty hallway, It was the only sound competing with her vicious heart beat.

She wasn't allowed to leave the mansion, and this time while she was out, she had almost gotten into a car accident on her way back, and her heart hadn't calmed down. It wasn't the potential accident that scared her, particularly, it was more so of her thinking: _"What the hell kind of lecture would my husband give me for wreaking his car?"_

But it was also just the fact that she had taken his car in the first place that nearly sent her to cardiac arrest.

In her defense however, he was the one who hid her keys from her and it was his fault for keeping his keys in the exact same place as he always put them. Right on his dresser.

It was strange not to hear even the commotion of the maids at this time of day but now that was a good thing, she hadn't received a call from her husband while she was gone the past day and a half, so if she could just sneak into her room now, she could pretend she never left in the first place.

"You're back early this time."

She froze, squeezing her eyes shut, letting out a deep sigh. He didn't sound mad, but what ever it was in his tone, it made him sound exhausted.

"Do I need to give you a full detailed explanation on where I was?" She muttered.

"Not if you don't want to." Kaoru answered. "You don't even need to tell me how long you'll be gone."

Mayuki turned to him. He wasn't looking at her, but was just staring at his phone.

"But you could at least tell me if you're going out," he added, "Your car keys were still here, but I couldn't find you, the maids didn't even see you leave. I was worried about you."

She glared, not easing a bit at his defensive whine. "You're not the only one who keeps track of the _days_."

"It's not about that. It's getting dark, I though that you might be staying out late because you were mad at me."

"I'm old enough to leave the house. You're worse than my father was."

Kaoru stood up straight, away from the wall he was leaning on. Of course he wasn't allowed to worry, that would be silly. How foolish of him to think that it was normal for a husband to be worried about his wife who continuously leaves and doesn't come back until midnight, or sometimes, doesn't come back for two days.

He was stupid to think she'd even tell him anything.

"You could have sent me a message at dinner," he continued, mostly just saying what he had on his mind rather then speaking to her. "If something happened to you, I wouldn't know where to look."

"What? you don't already have trackers in my earrings?"

"May-"

"I'm tired, so I'm going to bed. You can worry about us getting sick tomorrow, right now I don't want hear it."

"I already know you sneak out when I'm not looking," he said just as she turned around. "I don't want to fight about this, I just want to know what keeps you out so long. I can't ask your parents, they never answer my calls."

"And I'd prefer if you didn't check up on me from my parents, they've had enough of you that they complain to me about it."

"Well you can tell them the same," he grouched, "but it isn't about that either. I'm not mad that you leave, I just don't want to have to worry about you getting sick while you're not here and I won't-"

"It's always because of _that,_ isn't it?" She turned back around. For some reason, his soft, innocent voice always made her angry. "What's it matter? I'm always back before then, aren't I?"

He wanted to say: "You never had this bad of a temper when we first met" but he resisted, knowing that that probably wasn't something he should bring up now, and instead, he just breathed and met her gaze, not expecting her to even look half as angry as she did.

"...I looked through your account," he said, half whispering like a kid in trouble, trying to explain himself after doing something bad. "It's the only way I know you're not dead."

It didn't take her long to get defensive. "My _bank_ account?"

"It doesn't say what you buy, just that a lot of money goes out at the same time," he hesitated. "And whenever you're gone over night... payments to a hotel come out. I don't know what it is, but if it's to get a break from me, you could just say so."

Now, she was so enraged, the temple at her cheek twitched, and it was a wonder how her voice wasn't raising.

"And just because of that, you think it gives you a right to look through my stuff? It's none of your business," she hissed, taking a step towards him without thinking. "If you don't mind me going out, why do you care where I spend the night? Just as long as I'm home before your mark has time to miss me."

"Mayuki, it's not because of that," He grabbed her hand before she could leave. "Every time you leave you're doing something bad. How am I supposed to know you aren't-"

"I'm doing something _bad_?"

"You don't consider the last two times you overdoes, bad? I don't want you to hurt yourself, why does it always have to be about the virus?"

"Because with you it always _is_ ," she ripped her hand from him. "It always has something to do with me getting sick. I don't care, so just leave it alone. Don't snoop through my stuff like I'm doing something _illegal_."

He flinched. "I never said-"

"I'm seeing someone. Is that what you wanted?" There was a sudden pain in her voice. "You found out, you just wanted me to admit it? So you can rest easy now, I'm not taking weekly trips to the drugstore. The virus isn't going to let me ie that easily."

He heard nothing but the first few words that came out of her mouth. The rest had gone to deaf ears and he pulled himself back, away from her. She didn't look him in the eyes after that, and instead, left before she even waited a second for him to reply.

Kaoru couldn't even find it in him to love his legs, so he stood in the same spot she left him in. There was almost no strength in him to even continue standing, but his shock froze him so that he couldn't even lower the floor.

"... _Seeing someone_?" he said out loud, so he could fully understand what that meant.

There had been a lot of things that hurt him during their short marriage. One thing after another seemed to hurt him more.

But this time, it seemed to be the tiny piece of straw that broke the camel's back, because whatever was left of his heart shattered.

* * *

 **I hate writing filler chapters as much as you probably hate reading them, as this chapter nearly killed me in the process, but it had to be done.**

 **Because I'm so excited about the next chapter, the hype for it is really what got me through this one. Thanks for stickin' with me, and I hope you enjoyed this chapters, so until next time!**

 **(I'm on summer break, so updates may be more frequent).**


	25. Chapter 25

**Because Of You**

* * *

The room around Haruhi was so silent, she wondered if the police officer heard her when she swallowed.

Most eyes were on her, the intensity of their gaze was so severe she was sure they'd set her on fire. And the embarrassment was killing her.

"Fujioka... _Where_ is your client?"

Haruhi squeezed her eyes shut, avoiding the judge's stare. "...I don't know." She whispered.

"Pardon?"

"Just give him a few more minutes, your honor." She said, just a little bit louder. "He's... a little late."

The judge looked towards the clock on the wall. "An hour and a half late? I think we've given him enough time. Have you received a call from him?"

"I haven't."

There was a long silence the judge took to process things and come to a decision. For Haruhi, it felt as though she were waiting to find out whether or not if she were getting executed. The last time she had seen Hikaru was when he had unconsciously attacked her.

There was no part of her that wanted to see him, but she needed him now. This was the second time he was supposed to be present for the same hearing, as he didn't show up yesterday for the main date of the hearing.

The fact that he, again, missed the hearing was just another shot to her confidence, and she was sure he was doing it on purpose to get back at her. She was sure she told Kaoru to tell him about it, and she even left him enough text messages to short circuit his cellphone.

She tried to think of all the reasons she could as to why Hikaru didn't come, but her thoughts were interrupted by a loud bang, by the judge's gavel hitting his desk.

"Case dismissed."

Haruhi stood up, seeming to have missed the first part of what he had said. "Wait, _what_?"

"Fujioka, many times Mr. Hitachiin has been summoned to this courtroom and he's failed to appear. For the fault he's done in Kyoto can't be ignored and the accuser has demanded that he pay the fine. If Mr. Hitachiin does neither by Monday two weeks from now, there'll be an issued warrant for his arrest. He cannot continue to ignore the law with this foolishness. The media may not mind but my courtroom will not tolerate it."

The judge cleared his throat. "Case dismissed." He repeated.

"Childish," she heard the man in the seat beside her growled under his breath, but she chose to ignore him.

Haruhi stared at the small desk in front of her at a loss for words. Without the defender she didn't lose the case, but still, she was deeply humiliated having to be the bud of everyone's jokes. This was her first case, and just by her luck she had to be issued a childish client.

Everyone around her began to leave and while she was just putting her papers back into her bag she was slapped on the back, causing a ball of air to leave her throat.

"You tried," the man not too older than her said in a sigh. "A place like this can hurt the ego. An innocent kid should stay in school. You're just not cut out for this yet."

When he walked away, Haruhi slammed her briefcase closed.

* * *

"It's alright, Haru, he just likes to fire you up. It's healthy to have competition in the business, it'll keep you from losing your mind." Haruhi's former classmate, Saito shrugged.

"He's right. I'm not ready to be an attorney. I can't even keep track of my _one_ client. And I've already lost my mind to him more times than I can count. I'm not sure I'm even cut out to be a lawyer in the first place." Haruhi sighed.

"Aw, don't say that. You're super cute in that uniform."

"Most lawyers look _intimidating_ ," she grumbled, glancing up from her Styrofoam cup of coffee. "If you knew what I've done in the last few months with Hikaru would agree that I'm not exactly _professional_."

"Going on about that again?" he rolled his eyes, leaning on the back of his chair. "We're all a bit unprofessional. We'd all go to work in our pajama's if they'd let us. I could tell you about what Fujimoto did but-"

"Gossip isn't going to make me feel better." She sat up straight, and, she was about to say something else, when the door opened and a woman peeked her head into the coffee room.

"Fujioka," she muttered, with slight hesitance. "Mr. Yoshiaki would like to see you in his office. Mr. Orochi is with him."

The woman left when Haruh stood up. She pushed her coffee towards Saito and tried to suppress a whine.

Saito made a face as if he knew she were in trouble, but gave her an encouraging thumbs up for her sake.

Haruhi followed a little behind the woman to Yoshiaki's office. He was the boss of the firm she was taking her learners course from, and knowing that her professor from her law school was there made her anxious.

The day she found out what sort of person Hikaru was, she feared of this conversation. The day she woke up to find him and herself nude in her car was when she feared for her career. And after what happened today, there was no doubt that she was going to get the lecture of her life.

When the woman, obviously Yoshiaki's assistant, opened the door for her, she stepped inside, immediately bowing to the two men who sat inside. Her heart was pounding from being so close to such important people.

Yoshiaki, a man with a clean shaven face, but a very solemn expression, looked up at Haruhi through his glasses, and he didn't look pleased.

"Miss Fujioka," he greeted, being the third person to say her name that day with disapproval. "Come. Don't just stand there. We have things to talk about."

Haruhi cringed, obeying him by immediately taking a seat beside her professor, Orochi. "Mr. Yoshiaki, can explain. What happened today was-"

"And I'd like to hear it, but there's something we need to discuss, particularly about you and your client."

It wasn't my fault, she wanted to say, but didn't. She only nodded as he awkwardly kneaded her fingers.

"It won't happen again, sir. I'll be sure to tell him-"

"I suppose you might also be able to explain these," Yoshiaki said, as he dropped a pile of gossip and celebrity magazines. "It's quite unusual for someone in my firm to be this involved with their client."

She nearly choked on thin air as she stared at the magazines. And she was on the cover on at least two that she could see, and on those covers, she was embarrassingly close to Hikaru, with their facing being even closer. One even had a picture of them kissing.

Haruhi looked up, her mouth wide open. "I... I don't know where these came from."

"It looks as though you're in some sort of relationship with Mr. Hitachiin."

Orochi turned to her, frowning at his star pupil. "And that hospital stunt you pulled has gotten to be a very popular topic at the university."

"I can explain that too," she mumbled, glaring at her hands. "I'm not in any sort of relationship with him, there's just been some incidents. He asked me to help him, he didn't want to be at the hospital so-"

"I just fail to see how anyone would be able to take an attorney seriously with such things making up their reputation." Apparently she would never get to explain, because Yoshiaki once again interrupted her. "Having someone with such negative records with the public working at my firm could tarnish what everyone here has worked so hard on."

"Well, yeah..." Her teeth sunk into her lip. "No one would want to hire an unreliable attorney."

Orochi sighed, rubbing his fingers into his brow. Obviously, this was harder for him to say as it was for her to listen to. And he was sure his, already noticeably white hair, was growing even whiter.

"I'm sure none of this is your fault, Haruhi," he assured her, looking down at one of the magazines. "There's always going to be situations like this, but I'm not going to argue that this is-... it's going to put you in a very strange position."

Yoshiaki furrowed his brow. "I'm afraid no one will hire you."

Haruhi looked up. "But-"

"You won't have to worry about Mr. Hitachiin-" He too looked down at one of the most vile magazines. "-distracting you. You can focus more on your work at the university, and once you graduate I'm sure you'll have a better hold on your career. And I'm sure this will all be looked over by then."

There were a few moments of awkward silence between the three of them, as Haruhi was trying to process what was happening. If it wasn't _her_ fault, why were they making it sound like it was indeed, _all_ her fault?"

She couldn't think of anything to say. "...Does this mean-"

"Mr. Hitachiin will no longer be your client. We're assigning his case to Kichida Ryuto. Someone who might be more experienced to handle such a nuisance." Yoshiaki admitted, unaware of who's pride he was hurting.

Ryuto? The man who made fun of her in the courtroom? Haruhi made a face of displeasure. "I understand."

"And you're being withdrawn from the learners course."

His words were so straightforward and the shock of hearing them made her want to puke.

* * *

She wasn't mad at him. She was mad at herself.

While she had lost everything she had worked so hard for the passed two years, and felt incredibly lost. This wasn't her job anymore, she no longer Hikaru's attorney. She had said this before, before Hikaru had gotten into more trouble, and she was fine with it. She could have jumped for joy that day after their first court hearing, but now it was different.

Someone else was going to be Hikaru's attorney, because she had just been demoted. There was a pang in her chest, and maybe it was jealousy, and being rid of someone who caused such a ruckus amongst her emotions, she thought it would be good. Instead, she was truly upset. Yes, there would be other positions, and after her schooling, there would be more secure jobs, ones that actually paid, but loosing this position, losing Hikaru, is what upset her.

" _I want you_ ," he told her, crushing her between his chest and a wall. "... _After this I don't think I could let you go_."

They truly were going their separate ways now.

And no doubt he'll be happy about it.

Haruhi held back a sigh as she knocked on the Hitachiin's door. There was only a few minutes that she had to wait before someone answered. Naturally the door opened without a creak and a petit maid cautiously poked her head out.

Her eyes went wide and she began to shut the door a little. "Miss Fujioka..."

"I'm sorry I didn't call to tell you I was coming," Haruhi apologized. "I won't stay long. I just wanted to see-"

"If you're looking for Mr. Hitachiin, he isn't here." The maid answered stiffly. "He left a long time ago and we don't know when he'll be back."

"Oh..." she frowned, "Is Kaoru here, then?"

The maid looked even more disgusted. "Yes, but he doesn't want any company."

Something wasn't right. This wasn't the first time everyone in the house was distant with her, but this time, even the maids seemed mad at her.

"Did something happen?" She asked.

"Nothing you should be concerned about, Miss Fujioka." Finally, the maid toned her attitude, "I'll see to it that Mr. Hitachiin's brother knows you were here. I'm sorry you came all this way for nothing."

"Wait," Haruhi pleaded, shoving her foot in the door before she could close it. "Please, could I just talk to Kaoru for a minute? If he doesn't want to talk I understand, but it's important. Please, could you ask him?"

There were a few moments where the maid said nothing as she stared at her. She was given strict orders not to open the door to anyone that day, to the press, Kaoru's in-laws, police, or the likes of Haruhi, for obvious reasons, but she had a weak heart, and after staring into her eyes, and seeing tears weld up around her eyelids, she gave in.

"Of course," she said, leaving the door open as she walked off.

This gave Haruhi a moment to collect herself, she rubbed her hand roughly against her face and straightened her shirt, and took this short time she was given to actually think of something important to tell, Kaoru.

Because she only came for, Hikaru.

But like always, Hikaru didn't want her. And this excuse of: "Hikaru isn't here" was probably a lie he made up so she'd go away.

She looked up when the door opened, and instead of the maid, it was someone with dark auburn hair, casual clothes, and a face she did not recognize. It took her a moment to realize who he was, and he wasn't a pretty sight; he looked awful.

Haruhi stepped back. "...Kaoru?"

He took a deep breath. "Sorry, I'm not, Hikaru."

"No, I― It's not that. I just..." she paused. "I guess I was just expecting something else."

"You said you wanted to talk." He said, sounding like he was forced to stand there and talk to someone he despised.

This happened before, and with the way he looked at her, he looked even more identical to his brother. She was sure if they stood next to each other now, she wouldn't be able to tell the difference, which was frightening.

"Are you mad at me? Did I do something?" She looked at him, as her hand bug into her shoulder bag. "I just wanted to give something to Hikaru, I didn't mean to disturb you like this."

"No," he said immediately. "You didn't do anything wrong, Haruhi." he took a deep breath and dropped his hand on her head, giving her, what she knew, was a fake smile. "I've just been tired. This isn't your fault."

His fingers ruffled her hair before he pulled away. "But Hikaru isn't here. You must be pretty upset with him now, because he missed his court hearing."

"He did," she nodded. "...And I got fired."

Kaoru opened his mouth, but he looked away. "...I'm sorry, Haruhi."

"It was my fault, I should've disciplined him better," she said quietly, talking about Hikaru as if he was a dog. But as of right now, to her, he was a dog. "I got fired because I violated the rules, not because he didn't show up, but it's not because of that."

"I called him, but he never answered my phone," she added, pulling out an orange envelope. "I wanted to give him all this paperwork he was supposed to be given earlier today. Since he's not here I guess he's working. If you could give him this, and tell him 'I'm sorry', I'd appreciate it..."

She bowed and held out the envelope, but he didn't take it.

She looked up, and he was looking directly at her, sadness implanted into every feature of his face.

"I can't." He said. "...Unless you want me to go to court impersonating him, I don't see any use for all that stuff."

Her arm didn't move, and her eyes switched from the envelope to him, then to the envelop, then back him. "But... you could just give it to him when he comes back later." She sounded like a scared child, being reprimanded by a stranger.

Kaoru tried fruitlessly to hide the wretched tone that lingered and the back of his throat. "I want to, but he won't be here. And even if he was here, I don't think he plans to ever go to court again."

"But he has to." She insisted.

"Haruhi, my brother's been missing for almost two weeks. He left his phone, and probably didn't even take a suitcase. I don't know where he went or where he is now, but I know that he doesn't plan on coming home."

He didn't dare look at her face as he readied to shut the door. "I'm sorry he's caused you so much trouble these last few months, and I'm sorry he acted the way he did to get you fired, but I can't tell you where he went because he didn't tell me."

That broken heart she possessed already broke a little more, and hearing this, nabbed her of the air in her chest and the air around her, so that she was left nearly suffocating.

"Two weeks..." she managed. "But... why? What did I do to him?"

"Nothing. This is how he is. You didn't do anything-"

"Really? because the last time I saw him you told he might kill me," she glared, not because she was angry, but because she needed something for her eyes to do so she wouldn't cry. "Now he's gone. All he ever does is run away from me. I've seen him with other people, I've watched interviews of him on television and read articles of him in magazines. He doesn't act this way with other people, but as soon as I show up all, hell breaks lose and I create this spit firing _demon_."

Taken aback by her outburst, Kaoru went dead silent.

Wherever his brother was now, he hoped he was happy.

Before Haruhi could put the envelope back in her bag, he took it, but he tossed it to their feet. She gasped and went to pick it up, but he grabbed her hand to stop her. When she looked at him for an answer he didn't say anything and pulled her towards him, trapping her in his arms.

She was horrified to find her face smashed against his collarbone.

"I'm sorry, Haruhi. I got you into this mess," he sighed heavily into her hair. "If I didn't insist that Hikaru get closer to you, you would have just stayed his lawyer. But I was selfish. I'm sorry."

Haruhi didn't move a muscle as he squeezed her tighter. "...He left because of me, didn't he?"

"He... wanted to be alone."

"We have to go get him."

Kaoru gave a soft chuckle. "No. If I was going to bring him back I would have gone looking for him already."

"We can't leave him alone. There's something wrong with him. He's sick." She said into his shirt. "He gets sick when he's worked up, what if something happens? He can't be by himself when no one knows where he is."

He nodded, stroking his hand against her hair. "...This is why he tried so hard to get arrested. He didn't want to be around anyone, not even me. If he was in prison he wouldn't be able to hurt anybody."

Haruhi felt her knees weaken, making her want to disappear further into his embrace. "But... He's all alone. He wouldn't really hurt anybody. He's... He's just-"

"He's sick, Haruhi. There's something about him that makes him really sick. It makes him do things, and he's afraid he might hurt someone, and there's nothing that can help him. There's no logical way to explain it, and I won't ask for you to understand, but Hikaru's not coming back."

She slipped her hands between them, and pushed herself away from him, almost stumbling out of his arms, and again she had to wipe her eyes dry.

"My mother got sick a long time ago. She had something the doctors had no cure for. They didn't know what she had, and didn't know how to fix it. She didn't even know what was wrong. One day we were baking cookies, and then next day I came home from school and she was already gone."

"But Hikaru knows, doesn't he?" she looked up at him before he had a chance to wipe his own eyes. "He knows he's sick and there's nothing anyone can do about it? And you're just going to let him be alone just because he wants to?"

"...Hikaru knows he's dying, and he has too much pride to let everyone here watch him die, and there _is_ something that can help him, but he'd rather die than have it." He straightened his back. "And if this is what he wants, then I'm not going to fight him anymore."

Somehow, she knew this was coming, so the mention of Hikaru's illness being terminal didn't shock her. But there was a familiar pain in her chest that numbed every nerve in her body.

It was a pain that didn't go away, but was simply buried, after her mother died.

And Hikaru somehow managed to dig it all up.

But even as she wanted to collapse into a messy heap on the patio, she reached for Kaoru's sleeve before he had a chance to get behind the door.

"Wait," she choked, "please... what is it?"

He frowned at her hand that was latched on his arm. "What'd you mean?"

"Just now, you said there was something that could help him. What is it?"

 _Tell me what it is._

 _Tell me where I can find it._

"I can't tell you."

She looked him in the eye, and there that look was again. The look of disgust.

"Please," she looked down at the envelope she was now stepping on. "I want to know."

"For what? So you can help him?"

"..I can't just leave him alone."

With sudden gentleness, Kaoru grabbed her hand and detached her fingers from his shirt. He squeezed her hand in a brief, comforting moment before he let it go.

"It has something to do with you," he said, looking down at her hands, then to her face. "And if he's meant to have it, he'll take it, and you'll have to give it to him. But he won't accept that. He won't use you that way."

Haruhi felt weak and defeated. "...I don't understand."

"We don't expect you to."

* * *

That evening, Haruhi made it back to her apartment.

She had driven back, walked up those painfully large amount of stairs, wished her neighbors a goodnight with a forced smile, made herself a cup of tea, and sat down at the table, with a pile of those dreadful magazines of her and Hikaru that everyone seemed to have a copy of.

Then finally, while no one was around, and after she had shoved the magazines to the floor, she broke down.

She broke down and cried over a dying man, one she barely knew anything about, but knew she was in love with.

 _Mother in heaven, please tell me he isn't there yet._

 _Let me find him first._


	26. Chapter 26

**Our Little Devils**

* * *

Jurou took a sip of his afternoon tea he fixed himself. He relaxed in the parlor, resting on the sofa. There was no sounds in the usually spooky mansion so he could collect himself and take a break from the havoc.

The havoc of the Nekozawa family being passed onto his shoulders was becoming a true pain.

" _Jurrrou!"_

 _A voice screamed at him from behind the closed_ door. He waited a moment, thinking that if he didn't reply, then whoever it was, might leave and look for him someplace else.

That was not the case. For the door was slammed open and a rather tousled, and sweaty maid popped her head into the room, panting and out of breath. Jurou stood up, alarmed, and nearly dropped his cup at the sight of her.

"Mino," he reprimanded. "What're you doing running around? What if Master Iaso sees you this way?" he paused as she run into the room. "What happened to you?"

Minori's dark gray maid's dress and her face and arms were littered with dirt. Sweat had plastered her bangs to her forehead and ruined her makeup, but she was grinning from ear to ear. She looked too proud of herself.

"Jurou, we did it!" she squealed, and ran to him, kicking off her muddy shoes. But before she got to him, she tripped over the shoe the moment it left her foot and she tripped.

Jurou panicked and caught her just before her knees could hit the floor. He glared as she struggled to get out of his arms and stand. When their eyes met, she flung her arms around his neck and nearly set them both to the floor, backwards.

"Minori-" he grumbled, but was cut off.

"I was in the garden," she gasped. "I was in the garden and his son called. Kaede! That's his name, and he knows her, and he gave me her number. I got too excited I had to call her as soon as he hung up."

She started to laugh, rubbing her nose affectionately into the crook of his neck. She was still trying to catch her breath when he pulled her away from him.

Jurou made a face as he wiped her bangs from her face. "What in the world are you talking about?"

"Kazue! I talked to her. She's alive!" " Minori answered, "I asked her about her daughter, and she agreed to meet me. I'm so happy. We're getting somewhere, Juro. We're gonna find her and Mr. Nekozawa won't have to worry anymore."

"Slow down," he scolded, holding her face as she tried to get away. "What about, miss Kazue?"

"We're going to go see her," she smiled. "I told her about the situation and she said we can meet her. She knows something about her daughter."

"But... ' _we'_?"

Her expression faltered. "Don't you want to come with me?"

He sighed. "...Are you sure it was her? The family just didn't get tired of you and had some crazy old lady talk to you?"

"No, it was her! She can tell us about her daughter." Minori pulled her face away, and grabbed his hand. "Nekozawa has a relative! The Nekozawa's name won't be lost anymore. They'll be-"

"Minori, whoever her daughter was, she's dead." Jurou said, grabbing her wrist. "She's gone, and by the look of the time she was born, she's been gone for a long time. What she knew about her doesn't mean anything to us now, so what's it matter?"

She looked away, staring at the track of mud she left on the rug. "You sound like master Nekozawa... I know about her, but still. The Nekozawa's are... hurt. They have to stay together. What If she had-"

"I'll go with you," he said, using his sleeve to wipe the dirt from her cheek. "But after this, will you stop? You'll get yourself in trouble with Master Iaso. What would Master Aki say if he knew you met one of his past love interests? He's already crossed with you."

Minori frowned, grumbling something under her breath as he pulled out of his handkerchief to clean the sweat from her brow. "He won't know. I'll be careful. I know how to make the curse go away. Miss Kirimi will get better and-"

"I know how the curse will go away, too, and whatever you have planned, I know it won't work."

"But you'll still go with me?" She looked up at him, her green eyes pleading.

"Go with you, and risk getting scolded by the boss and possibly get fired, _or_ , spend the rest of the afternoon relaxing and finishing my tea?" He hesitated, then accidentally let her cute look get the best of him. "Fine, but only if I drive."

She grinned. "They can't fire us anyway. We know too much."

* * *

There was absolutely nothing that motivated her enough to want to get out of bed. She felt dehydrated from all the tears she shed in such a short time. Her body was weak with exhaustion and from skipping one too many meals; It's hard to eat when you're crying too hard to hold your fork.

She never thought that she could get this emotional. If there wasn't any lightning, she never got emotional. She didn't even cry this much when her own mother died.

Haruhi leaned against the headboard, wiping her sleeve under her nose. She knew she needed to get up to make lunch, but she wanted to wait a few minutes to compose herself before she'd let her father see her in the state she was.

After the conversation she had with, Kaoru, she had pieced enough of it together to see some of the picture. This whole time she had known Hikaru, he had been dying. All those times they kissed, he had been in pain. Maybe that was the reason why he always held her so tight?

That whole month they were careful of keeping their interactions a secret from everyone else, she always noticed that he'd be the first one to run out of breath, the one to sweat the hardest when it was hot, the one who wouldn't admit that he needed it, but would always stop and take a break. Even if it was just after walking.

He was always the one who would get frustrated so easily, even if she always tried so hard not to irritate him. What he has, whatever that may be, must be painful.

He got mad at her because he was in pain and he didn't want her to know.

He tried to run away from her because he didn't want her to know he was dying.

She thought about what Kaoru said to that day, about, Hikaru. About him trying to get himself arrested. If she remembered correctly, he had been getting tickets for the last two years. Meaning he had been trying to go prison since he was in college.

How long has he been sick this way? What was making him sick?

 _"Hikaru knows he's dying, but he had too much pride to let everyone here watch him die. And there is something that can help him, but he'd rather die than have it."_

And what was it that could help him?

Before she could think anymore about it, the door to her room made opened with a soft click. She turned to it to see her father poking his head in. A blind person would be able to see the worry in his eyes.

"They're still here, Haruhi," he said quietly. "I told them to leave, but then he started begging, and I'm pretty sure he was trying to kiss my feet."

He saw her expression and frowned. "Are you okay, Haruhi?"

She swept her hand under her nose in a last attempt to clean her face enough for company. "Not really, but I think I've avoided them long enough."

Haruhi heard them outside the room as she got up and put her shoes on. They were careful to be quiet, as they were whispering. The only words she caught between mumbles before they saw her, was her name.

All four of them stood in the main room. Their large bodies were crowding the doorway, but they probably knew better than to complain about it.

"Haruhi," Tamaki piped up, when she came around the corner. He looked like he was about to cry from just looing at her.

"Haru-chan," Huni whimpered immediately going to her with his arms stretched out. "I'm sorry, Haru-chan. I don't have Usa-chan, but you can hug me if you want."

Before she had a chance to say anything about that, his arms were already around her, and he was rubbing his wet face into her cheek. When she put her hand on his head, he was trembling. He was already crying.

"Oh, Huni," she was afraid if she talked she might start crying again, too.

"We're sorry, Haru-chan," he sniffled, "So much has happened In just a few days, but please don't be sad. We don't like it when you cry."

Haruhi looked up to the taller ones in the back. "What're you doing here?"

Tamaki opened his mouth, but Kyouya interrupted him.

"Ranka told us what happened," he said, but he was looking away as he adjusted his glasses. "Tamaki decided that we'd come over for support."

"It was the _twins_ fault," Tamaki blurted out. "I mean look what they've done now? My Haruhi works so hard durning school, and finally achieves the chance of a lifetime to get ahead in her career and they mess it all up. You've lost your job promotion because of them."

Before she could protest, Tamaki reached her and pulled her out of Huni's grasp, just to hold her.

"Not only that, but your friend gets sick on the same day," he smothered his nose in her hair. "I know how much you respect him, he's the one who was taking the course with you, and the one you spoke so much about. I'm sorry, Haruhi."

It took Haruhi a moment to fully comprehend what they were telling her. For a moment, she was comforted by their hugs, and the thought that she wasn't the only one upset about it, but as it sunk in, she realized that she was the only one who understood the situation.

She glared and pushed her hands against his chest, pushing him away. "My _what_?"

Tamaki pouted, looking down at his empty arms. "What did I say?"

"Who told you what happened?"

He blinked, looking over his shoulder towards, Kyouya, looking for an answer. "Ranka did, over the phone... We just wanted to know if you were okay since you weren't answering my calls."

Kyouya sighed. "All he said was that you lost your place in the learners course at your school, and that your friend was very... _sick_."

"And that you were really upset." Huni added.

She wasn't upset anymore. She couldn't feel the tears in her eyes anymore, as the suppressed rage that suddenly emerged apparently evaporated all the tears she would have shed then.

"My _friend_?" she scoffed, looking around at them all. Mori and Kyouya were the only ones who didn't show any surprise at all. "Yeah, my friend, and he's not just sick, he's dying. He's been missing the last couple of days and no one knows where he is. He might even be dead right now, for all we know, but he's not a friend from my law school."

Tamaki pulled his hands back, feeling a few sizes smaller. "I'm sorry, Haruhi, I... I wasn't aware of the details, I just-"

"It's Hikaru, if you're really wondering, but now I doubt you care, right? Since it's all his fault I got fired." She growled. "Don't worry, I have no idea where he is, so he won't be messing anything up anymore."

After that outburst, Haruhi turned on her heel, ready to stop back to her bedroom and shun her friends out of her life, but she didn't get far. Tamaki grabbed her wrist, stopping her in her tracks.

"Wait," he was too shocked to speak, so his words came out with a choke. "Hikaru, you mean... Hikaru and Kaoru?"

"I wasn't sure you remembered their names." She tisked.

"You said... Hikaru's sick?"

"Right," oddly enough, she felt numb again. "Apparently he's been sick for a long time. He couldn't even tell me himself, someone else had to."

The whole room fell silent. She turned her head where she heard her father's footsteps enter the room, but when she looked back, none of her friends were looking her in the eye. They're gazes were all averted away.

Maybe not because they didn't want to look at her, but maybe cause they didn't want her looking at them. The silence was almost infuriating. The only sound she could hear was the sudden wind that picked up outside, and the breaths they took.

Tamaki was the first to recover, but as he opened his mouth, he shut it himself and looked away again.

He took another moment before continuing. "I... didn't know he was sick at all. He... certainly doesn't act like it."

"I don't think anybody out of that house does," she ran her fingers through her hair, untangling it. "But if you pay attention... you'd be able to tell. I mean... I wouldn't have helped a perfectly healthy person escape from the hospital; only an extremely ill one."

"Y'know, I always thought that it was a crazy stunt from him just to try to make you look bad to the public," Tamaki said quietly. "When you were with him behind that building and he didn't seem too hesitant to start a fight with me, I thought he looked perfectly fine. And that wasn't that long ago."

"How long has he been sick?" Kyouya finally said something from the background. "Something just doesn't start to kill you out of nowhere with no cause or reason."

"I don't know," Haruhi shrugged, feeling her chest grow heavy. "He didn't tell me. I just know that he's positive that the doctors will make it worse. But they have their own private doctor, who says, whatever he has, isn't a real illness."

"But how long has he been this way?"

"Awhile, I guess."

Haruhi turned to her side, where she heard a very distinct sniffle. Huni has his hand to his eyes.

She blinked, staring at his red cheeks. "Huni..."

"I remember when they were apart of the Host Club," he muttered, looking down at the floor. His voice was cracking from the knot in his throat. "They had to train for awhile before they finally got he hang of socializing with the guests. They used to switch out Tama-chan's hair spray with air freshener, and add pepper spray to everyone's eye-drops. They always laughed about it, even when they got yelled at."

"They used to start fake fights with each other for attention," Tamaki added, watching his own foot scratch at the floor, "and would be the first ones in the club room just so they could booby-trap a prank somewhere in the room before anyone else got there."

"They introduced us to their parents once during a school party. They said we were their friends," Huni rubbed at his eye again, almost wishing that he had his stuffed bunny. "That's why we were so confused when they suddenly said we weren't, and they left. I wish I knew what made them so angry at us back then."

Kyouya nodded after another buddle of silence hovered between them all. "The club was never as lively again."

"It did lose quite a spark when they left." Tamaki agreed.

Haruhi could now heard the true and painful sadness in their voices. They were always denying it before, but now that they knew they were losing an old friend, someone that was apart of something very special to them, they wore every once of that sadness on their sleeves.

"I never hated them, even after they got mad." Huni murmured, trying to keep everyone from seeing the tears in his eyes. "They just suddenly got violent and hurt someone, I just didn't want them to end up hurting you too, Haru-chan."

He looked over towards her. "I don't know what we did to make them so mad at us, but... even if we haven't gotten along with them in years, I... I don't want anything happen to them. I still think of them as our friends."

Mori, who had been standing in the background, speechless, finally spoke up.

"Hikaru and Kaoru didn't just leave the Host Club. They wanted Tamaki to kick them out. If they wanted to leave, they would have just said so. Something made them upset that day."

She felt as though another tiny puzzle piece fell into the picture. It was almost invisible, and just barely made sense but it was there. And it made her both happy, and undeniably heartbroken.

 _"There's something about him that makes him really sick, and it makes him do things..."_

 _"If he was in prison he wouldn't be able to hurt anybody."_

 _Oh my god._

Haruhi pinched her eyes closed, rubbing her hands over her face. "That's why he lashes out at me all the time."

"...What're you mean, Haru-chan?"

"I don't know what it is, but... whatever Hikaru has, It makes him upset. He gets angry easily. I don't think he can control it."

 _When you're in pain it's hard to keep your emotions under control._

Kyouya sighed, in what sounded like disappointment. "Hikaru got angry and acted without thinking, so they got kicked out of the club and pretended that it didn't bother them."

"But why did Kao-chan get so mad?"

"If my twin brother was sick I'd be upset, too."

"And if they didn't want me to know about it, why would they want guys to know?" Haruhi asked, but it was a question to prove a fact. "You think that's why they wanted to leave...?"

Tamaki pushed himself away from the wall, and looked around him, meeting the gaze of all his friends. "Men, I think we made a mistake."

They all looked at him.

"We tossed out our little devils like a couple of strays when we should have been there for them." He took a deep breath, standing up straight, fruitlessly trying to hide his sadness with a determined scowl. "They weren't ones to come out and express themselves. Maybe it was because we couldn't tell that something was wrong, that they were convinced we weren't good enough for them."

No one replied.

He looked over at, Haruhi. "Where did you say Hikaru was hiding?"

"I don't know," she frowned. "Nobody knows where he is. He went missing two weeks ago. Kaoru doesn't even know where he is."

"Well..." he looked at Kyouya one more time. "What's your schedule look like?"

"It could be freed up."

He grinned. "Excellent. Let's go find him then."

"But Tamaki," Haruhi grabbed his sleeve before he could go to the door. "You don't even know where to look."

"Those are details for another day, Haruhi. Right now, we've got to find our twins."

"But-"

"Once apart of the Host Club, always apart of the Host Club," he pressed his finger to her lips. "And the Host Club is family, isn't that right, Haruhi?"

She was speechless for a moment, but eventually smiled.

"Yeah."

 _Yeah it is._

* * *

 **I apologize for this being a late update. I didn't like the first go at it, so I scratched almost all of it and re-wrote it again. I'm quite happy with what came of it. I hope you are to. :) Thank you for all the positive feedback I've received, it really means a lot to me.**

 **I can't write as much, since I have 2 new kittens to take care of. The youngest one is scared when I type on the computer and the older one likes to attack my feet, so it's a little distracting, Lol. But they're so cute and fuzzy that they ultimately win every argument.**

 **On another note, thank you all for reading! Let me know if you liked this chapter. Constructive criticism is always appreciated! I love you all! You guys make writing worthwhile.**

 **~Kc495**


	27. Chapter 27

**You're Bad For Me**

* * *

"Tamaki, you can't. It's locked."

Just as those words slipped from Haruhi's lips, Tamaki jiggled the lock on the gate again. Only just to emphasize her point; that it was indeed, locked.

Out of frustration, he tossed the lock against the chains and kicked where the doors met.

"Okay," He turned around, glaring at everything his eyes could reach. "Huni, Mori, the fence has to end somewhere, so there must be some sort of gap between it and a wall or something. Go find it. Maybe Huni can squeeze through."

Huni cringed. "But uh... Tama-chan-"

"Kyouya," he turned to him. "I know you brought your tablet. Look up effective ways how to unlock gates without a key."

Kyouya sighed. "No matter the perspective, this is considered trespassing."

"And that's okay."

"If they call the police on us it'll look bad on my reputation."

Tamaki rolled his eyes. "Alright. If anyone asks. I am a psychotic maniac and I kidnapped and forced you to help me break into an old friend's house."

"Well you're not wrong."

"Perfect. Now, Haruhi darling, do you have a hair pin?"

Tamaki waited a moment for a reply, but when he didn't get one, he looked over his shoulder and saw Haruhi in a daze. Her eyes were glazed over as she stared into the hedges deep in thought about something that was probably completely pointless to them now.

"Haruhi," he spoke up again. "This is no time to be spacing out."

Huni frowned, laying his chin on her shoulder. "Haru-chan. It'll be okay. Kao-chan's going to help. We'll find him in no time. And when we do, we'll make up. We promise. And we'll have a party, like old times. Right. Takashi?"

"Yeah."

"It's not that." Haruhi looked at the driveway that continued on the other side of the gate. It wasn't long ago that the trees in front had cherry blossoms. Now that it was close to September, it was growing cold and everything was dying.

Everything.

"It's just..." she hesitated. "Neither of them want to be bothered. I think we're wasting our time."

"We're doing this for, Hika-chan. He's sick. We have to bring him home."

"But he doesn't want to come home." Haruhi looked down at her hands, and her fingers that were covered in rust from the gate. "He left because of me. He won't listen to what I say. He never has. And... I think Kaoru hates me for it."

No one said anything for awhile. They could neither agree or deny that.

"He didn't say that," she added quietly, "but it's my fault his brother left. His marriage isn't working out, and now he has no one. If I had just stayed out of their business they'd at least have each other."

"But that's not your fault, Haruhi," Tamaki said sternly. "It's not like you're the reason why he's sick. He's a brat, and he ran away. No one could be mad at you, Haruhi. Now come on. We can't help anyone if we just stand here. We might not have a lot of time left."

"Tamaki," Kyouya piped up, looking away from the gate. "We can't get in. It has out-dated lock on this side, but there's a working security system on the inside. If we unlock it from the outside an alarm will go off. I wouldn't doubt it if there was a camera looking down on us as we speak."

Tamaki looked up, running his eyes along the rim of the fence. "I don't see any cameras... Everything looks so old. Honestly, I don't think anything's changed since that one time we came here."

Huni pouted. "Then how are we supposed to get in?"

"I don't know. There isn't a doorbell camera. We can't even reach the door to knock." Tamaki grumbled, looking around again. He heard the sound of a zipper and glanced over his shoulder to see Haruhi dropping her jacket on the ground.

"...Haru?"

"I don't know why I'm doing this," she breathed. "There's a part of me that says 'this is a really bad idea' but I guess it's a little late for me to be worrying about that. I mean... I was the one who helped him escape a hospital, and I was his lawyer during that time, so technically he's my responsibility, right?"

Tamaki shrugged. "I suppose any excuse is better than nothing at this point-... Wait, Haruhi, what're you doing?"

She stood on her tiptoes, trying to reach for the barbed wire where the brick fence ended at least three feet above her head. Making it far out of her reach.

She looked over her shoulder. "Mori, could you give me a boost?"

"What?" Tamaki gasped, throwing his finger towards the gate, appalled. "No, no, no. Haruhi, a lady shouldn't- It's not right! It's too high, and there's plants- sharp plants, on the other side. You'll get hurt. Let me-"

Haruhi and Mori seemed to be in their own little world where Tamaki's presence didn't exists, because despite his protests, Mori was folding his hands for Haruhi to step on to. Tamaki hurriedly ran to her, to make sure she wouldn't fall.

"Careful Takashi, don't drop Haru-chan. She's fragile and can't afford health insurance!"

Sitting on top of the bricks now, now eight feet up in the air, Haruhi chose to ignore that comment, and tried to maneuver around the barbed wire to jump down on the other side. But the fence was too narrow for her to move much, and every time she did she cut herself or got her clothes stuck.

She eventually stopped. Now stuck. "Remind me again why I'm doing this?"

Kyouya continued to look around to make sure they weren't being seen. "To save your potential boyfriend from having to die alone?"

"Right. Sick. Dying. Dying potential boyfriend-... _wait_ ," she looked down. "He's _not_ my boyfriend, just so we're clear on that. He's just a friend."

He raised his brow. "You might want to look at what you're doing before you try to deny it. Now focus. Jump down and unlock the gate from the inside."

"Kyouya, this is an eight foot fence. I'm not jumping."

Kyouya sighed. "Alright. Tamaki, climb up there and Haruhi will use you as a cushion."

"Why do _I_ always have to be the cushion?"

Un on the fence, Haruhi tried to ignore the bickering that was going on down below, and looked down to the other side. A mangy collection of overgrown grass and wildflowers were entangled along the bottom of the fence. Some bushes harbored sharp leaves and the flowers didn't look very nice either. She knew the Hitachiin's had a gardener, but down the hill of their driveway, it didn't look like anyone really cared to maintenance it.

When she tried to move closer to the gate's door, where the tire tracks of cars had flatten most of the ground, her clothes got snagged on the barded wire again and she nearly slipped off the bricks.

"Where would Hika-chan go without Kao-chan?" Huni frowned as he glanced up at his cousin. "I never knew they could ever be apart. Why would he just run away?"

"That's what we're going to find out," Tamaki said "And also... to find out what made Hikaru sick. Kyouya-"

"Don't ask me. Hikaru wasn't taken to one of my family's hospitals, so I can't just look through his records. That information is classified."

"...So you already-"

"I already tried."

Tamaki contemplated what to ay before he opened his mouth, but evidently decided against it and looked upwards. "Hey, Haruhi. Why did Hikaru want you to help him leave that hospital? Did he say?"

It sounded like she was abut to reply, but there was a loud voice coming from the other side, and whoever it was, they didn't sound happy.

" _Hey_! What is this? Get down from there!"

Then, there was a squeal, and suddenly, Haruhi wasn't on the fence anymore.

The boys all flinched at the loud thud that came after.

"Ow!"

"Haru-chan, are you okay?!"

"It's okay, Haruhi! Daddy's coming!"

" _There's more of you_!?"

* * *

There was a chilling silence that was beginning to eat through them as Haruhi and her current partners in crime stood in the living room of the Hitachiin estate. It was uncomfortable, and not just because her arm was sore from landing on it.

The twin's grandfather was perched on his favorite chair. His chess board was on the table in front of him, occupied with the game he was playing with his wife, but it was obvious Kazuha got bored and went to find something else to do. Leaving him with just to organize the pieces.

Butlers stood at their sides, as if to guard the family, or to make sure they (the trespassers) wouldn't get away.

It had been roughly ten minutes that they had been standing there before Kyouya started to speak.

"I can explain-" he started, but the old man raised his finger to silence him.

He reached up and scratched at his mustache, placing down one of his knights in it's rightful spot next to the Bishop. He pursed his lips and picked up the king piece to wipe against his shirt.

Tamaki twitched at the antagonizing silence. "Um... sir-"

"Shhh."

He flinched.

With another scratch, the old man angled his chess board until it was straight before his eyes finally looked up at them. He took his time looking at them one by one when his eyes stopped on, Haruhi.

"May I ask what happened to your arm, Haruhi?" he raised his brow.

Haruhi looked at her shoes. "I uh... I fell off the fence, sir."

"My fence?"

"Yes."

"And what were you doing up there?"

"I was-... well I couldn't pick the lock so-"

"So you climbed the fence?"

"...Yes, sir."

He looked away from her and adjusted his glasses. "Are these men your friends?"

She glanced at her side. "Yeah."

"I'm disappointed," he leaned back into his chair, curling his finger around the hook of his teacup. "I can't fathom the idea that you have four strong, healthy men with you and that you're the one who's sent up over the fence. And knowing the four of you, I suspected that you were respectful gentlemen."

Huni's eyes grew wide. "You... know who we are?"

"Half the household knows who _you_ boys are," he took a silent sip of his tea. "Hardly _boys_ anymore, though. It's been a long time. The twins talked a lot about _you_ back then." His eyes directed towards, the tall blonde.

Tamaki grinned. "About me? So they talked about the club at home?"

"I suppose you mean the Host Club," he didn't sound mad, but he didn't sound thrilled either. "Yes. Both Hikaru and Kaoru seemed rather fond of that Host Club."

"That Host Club?" A voice appeared from the hallway. Everyone glanced up to see Kazuha glaring at them all in return. She was fixing her floral headpiece as she entered the room.

"Evening dear," he greeted, not taking his eyes off the formal Hosts. "Look who came to visit."

"That Suoh brat and his band of gigolos." She scoffed, taking a seat on the sofa. "The one's who kicked the twins out of their club?"

Tamaki gasped, but Kyouya pinched his hand to remind him to keep quiet.

She looked up as a maid hurriedly entered the room after her, bringing her a cup of tea and a plate of pickles. She dissmissled her immediately and smiled.

"Hello, Haruhi dear."

Haruhi swallowed. "Hello, Mrs. Hitachiin..."

She tried, but she couldn't hide her smirk. "Did your arm break your fall?"

"...Yes."

She wasn't going to tell them that she watched the whole incident from her bedroom window.

Kazuha looked back at the boys and a scowl returned to her face. "Back then the twins were still in middle school. They were still cute and innocent back then, but they were dealing with a lot. You kicking them out of a club that they enjoyed didn't help."

They all looked away from her eyes, guiltily.

Tamaki frowned. "We really didn't mean-"

"And I never got my hands on you for that," she added. "Which one wants to go first."

Her husband took another sip from his cup. "Dear, remember your blood pressure."

"You handle that for me just fine," she reminded him. "Let's break the little one. He's already trembling."

"No!" Huni blurted out, he received a look from Mori but he didn't stop. "We're sorry. We didn't mean to hurt Hika-chan's and Kao-chan's feelings. We thought that's what they wanted. We're sorry we climbed your fence we just wanted to help Haru-chan find Hika-chan. We're really sorry. But it wasn't my idea to kick them out. Please don't break me."

Haruhi was speechless as she looked at him, and saw that he was on the brink of tears.

She couldn't lie, though. The twin's grandparents could be frightening when they wanted to be.

"In all fairness, it was all Tamaki's idea to kick the twins out of the Host Club." Kyouya mentioned.

Tamaki gasped again. "I can't believe I'm being ratted out by my own men."

"I told you not to let them go, but you wouldn't listen to me." Huni grumbled.

"Alright, enough. It's not like it matters to them anymore," Kazuha intervened, biting into one of her pickles. "But we can't ignore that you trespassed onto private property. Hikaru isn't even here."

"We came to see, Kaoru." Haruhi muttered.

"I don't think anyone other than Mayuki has talked to Kaoru for days." Mr. Hitachiin said.

"He hardly comes out of his room since Hikaru ran away," Kazuha added. "This family is... _fragile_. I'm sure you know what's wrong with Hikaru. Despite that, Kaoru has a lot of problems of his own. He's the one that requested to lock the gate. If he saw that you were all here it would upset him. You're going to have to leave."

"...But we came here to get Kaoru to help us find, Hikaru," Tamaki spoke up awkwardly, hoping that he wouldn't be roasted by the whole room again. "And we came to apologize. I thought that they made it very clear that they wanted out of the club. They broke stuff and were mean to people. They said that they didn't want to be our friends anymore. If we knew of their situation back then, we wouldn't have told them to leave. We're very sorry if we hurt them, but we just want to help find, Hikaru. We want to make it up to them."

The twin's grandparents were silent. They stared at them all, as well as Haruhi, who was starting to sink into the background behind them.

Kazuha was glaring in thought. Ten years ago, she found her fourteen year old grandsons locked in their bedrooms, refusing to come out, and when she forced her way in, to scold them for disarranging her workplace, they were trying to hide the fact that they had been crying. And for once, since they were infants, they were crying real tears.

That was the day after they had found out about the curse, and a day before they got into a fight with the Nekozawa's and _had_ to be pulled out of school.

She thought about the day Hikaru had come home after breaking up with his girlfriend, Ren, drunk and upset, declaring that he was never going to fall in love again.

She thought about the day police had came to the door, and shoved Kaoru against the wall with handcuffs, falsely accusing him for something that wasn't his fault.

"Alright," she finally decided. "But if he tells you to leave, then you'll leave."

* * *

A nameless maid wore a gloom expression on her face as she led Haruhi and the others up the staircase. No one other then the ones that lived there was allowed upstairs, so she was hesitant.

"Why is it so quiet?" Tamaki asked, looking around the corridor. "And dark?"

None of the hall lights were on. The only source of light came from the one large window at the end of the hall.

"There isn't much staff here at the estate. There's the chef, and her workers, and ten of us that run the household. The gardeners are only here on Tuesdays." The maid said quietly, balling her apron in her hands. "There are only seven who live here, so it never really is loud here."

Before anyone could comment on that, she suddenly stopped walking (Huni almost ran into her back) and with a clouded expression, she slowly knocked on one of the door.

There was no reply.

"Mr. Hitachiin," she spoke against the doorframe. "You have company." She tried knocking again.

But still, no one answered.

The maid frowned, turning to, Kyouya. "I'm sorry. And I'm not allowed to open the door without permission. Like what was said before, he doesn't want to see anyone. He may be in his other room, but if he made it clear that no one's to touch that room, so I can't help you."

Haruhi looked over her shoulders, where she though she heard something. she furrowed her brow and turned back around, but an itching feeling on the back of her neck made her uneasy. She blinked, but her vision was blurring as if her eyes were watering, but there was not a trace of tears when she wiped her hand against her face.

She had to touch the wall to make sure she was still standing, and not floating. Her stomach dropped, making her legs like lead. She grabbed the doorknob of the door she was up against and tried to breathe, but suddenly she was suffocating. There was a pain in her head, and her chest, it came so out of nowhere that she almost cried out.

There was a strange smell. It was a strong scent of dust, but maybe it was something spicy. Whichever, it didn't matter to her. It was clogging her lungs and she just wanted fresh air. Whatever this way, it was burning her insides.

"Um..." she was surprised she could talk when she opened her mouth. "Where's Hikaru's room...?"

The maid looked over, giving her a strange look as she noticed she was sweating. "...You're touching it."

Hikaru looked at her hand that rested on a door. It was two doors down from Kaoru's.

Tamaki raised his brow. "Is something wrong, Haruhi?"

 _Yes_

"No," she grimaced. "I... I just thought I heard something."

"Are you okay, Haru-chan?"

Haruhi winced. Her headache was growing. The Curiosity and pain was killing her. Another dose of dizziness washed over her, and she closed her eyes. Whether it be from lack of food or sleep, she didn't know, but she had no time to steady herself, before her hand twisted the doorknob and the room ultimately swallows her whole.

From it's weight and the air from the hall, the door shuts on it's own. The room was too dark for her to even see her own hand in front of her face. Her body was working into overdrive over her fatigue, as that strange new scent was everywhere. It was overwhelming.

Every once of heat left her body and she was left shivering. Her hands were trembling in seconds but when she touched her arms, they were warm. She took a slow step forward, following the path the special scent left in the air, but there was nowhere to go; not without light.

Haruhi hissed as she clutched her shirt over her chest. Her heart was throbbing, and skipping so many beats, pounding itself in and out of rhythm. She nearly collapsed had she not found the wall behind her.

Her fingers didn't search long for the light switch, and when she found it, the bright light was blinding.

The room was no larger than the room she was given the night she stayed over, but still, she felt so tiny and scared. Something about the bedroom was frightening, with it's dark colors and strange scent it had. She had an itching feeling that she shouldn't be there, but she couldn't bring herself to leave that smell behind.

It was a scent, a scent that didn't even smell good, and it was luring her further, guiding her towards the large bed. Her hands touched the velvet bedspread, and they trembled, and not _because_ of something, but _for_ something.

Her mind immediately though of, Hikaru.

But one's body couldn't physically _need_ someone, could it?

She turned around, facing a much stronger source of the smell. She had lost all control a long time ago, her body was now moving on it's own, too enticed by whatever it was. It made her head hurt, not being able to physically grab it, and hold it.

Haruhi was led to the desk across the room. Her hand pulled away the rolling chair, and her lungs ached. The scent was so close, it burned. It was so close, but she could see nothing that could start it.

Her fingertips grazed the top of the laptop. She felt the warmth of it's monitor and her thumb slowly started to raise the screen. Something told her not to, but something stronger urged her on. Her feelings grasped their own voices and their were practically screaming at her to not to, to do it, to do everything, to do nothing. To do _something_.

The screen lit up, but that was as far as she got, as her hand was suddenly jerked away from it. She gasped as someone grabbed her wrist, and the spinning motion of them turning her away from the desk made everything go away. The chill, the pain, the scent.

It was all gone.

Her gaze was met with two sober, golden eyes and she felt her knees go weak.

"Hikaru." She choked.

"Close enough," Kaoru growled, gripping her wrist in his hand. "What're you doing in here?"

Haruhi managed to pull away from his eyes and looked around the room. Right, of course. She was in Hikaru's bedroom.

"I..." she swallowed, glancing down at his hand. "I don't know."

"How did you even get in?" he looked towards the door that was closed. "The door was locked."

Voices came fro the other side of the door. Tamaki and the others were asking for her, wondering if she was okay, and were trying to open the door. The knob only jiggled. Because it was locked.

"But..." she was frightened by her inability to remember what she was doing. "Then how did you get in?"

"I was already here," Kaoru scowled, confusing washing over his features. "What were you doing? This is Hikaru's."

"I don't know," she said again, her voice trembling. "The door opened by itself. I just... followed something. I don't know what it was."

Narrowing his eyes, he released his hand from her wrist and instead, touched her cheek. She flinched against his touched but leaned into his palm. He pushed her hair away, staring at her face.

"Haruhi," he jaw clenched. "You're... eyes."

She blinked a few times. "...Huh?"

He grabbed her face, forcing her closer. She winched as his thumb ran over her eyelid. "Hold still."

He was certain her eyes were brown before. A dark brown even darker than her hair, but it was different. They were grey. It was like staring into a foggy haze.

"What did you do?" he asked, his bitterness being a mixture of suspicion and annoyance.

His behavior was freaking her out. "What?" She looked down as she rubbed her hands viciously against her eyes, so much her skin turned red and sore. "What's wrong?"

He trapped his finger under her chin and tilted her face back. His tone was almost sympathetic. "What're you doing here, Haruhi? Why are you in here?"

"I... I thought," she rubbed her eye again, jerking her chin away to look around. She didn't know what she was looking for, but she knew it wasn't there. "Nothing, nevermind. Sorry I came in without asking."

She tried to sidestep him, but he grabbed her shoulder. When she looked at him, her eyes had returned back to their original color. Back to brown, but now they looked to be on the verge of tears.

Kaoru sighed. "What were you looking for?"

"I was looking for, Hikaru." And his room still smelt like him.

But why did she think that? Whenever she was near him, Hikaru never smelt like _that_. But it did.

"But he isn't here."

"I know. I just thought..." Haruhi tried to continue, but the laptop was open and something moving on the screen caught her attention. It was big bright letters flashing. It read " _Refreshing"._

Her eyes nearly bulged out of her head. "What is _that?"_

Kaoru looked down and gasped. The laptop was wide open, displaying a colorful page. He leaned over to close it, but Haruhi was closer and managed to spin it around out of his reach.

She felt her heart drop to the pit of her stomach as she read what was there, all while Kaoru tried to get it away from her.

"Refreshing air. Refreshing scenery. Refreshing organic foods. All in one place" the top of the screen read. Below that, was a scheduled reservation.

"Pension Misuzu?" She read out loud. "Hikaru... He's at _pension Misuzu_?"

"Haruhi-" He went to move her hand away from the mouse.

"And you _knew_ about it?" she voice hitched with disbelief. "This was scheduled Tuesday. He hasn't been missing for two weeks. He left 3 _days_ ago."

Kaoru opened his mouth, but nothing came out before she cut him off.

"That's why you didn't want to look for him," she stepped away from him. "You've known where he's been this whole time."

"I didn't know where he was going when he first left," he defended himself, slamming the laptop close the first chance he got. "I found out by accident."

"You could have just told me." She argued.

She had spent that night crying over him. But she was told that he had been missing for two weeks, was terminally ill, and wasn't sure if he was still alive.

She felt so stupid.

"Haruhi," Kaoru caught her arm when she tried to walk away. "He doesn't want anyone to known."

"And what? You known more about what's wrong with him than I do and you're just going to let him do this?"

"My brother isn't dying in a matters of days, Haruhi." He said firmly, his hand still on her arm. "Things are difficult right now, if he wants a break, I'm not going to force him to come home."

She scoffed, ripping her arm from his grasp. " _You're_ not."

"Haruhi, you can't."

"I have my own problems. This is just between me and, Hikaru."

"He left because of you, Haruhi. If you go after him-"

"He'll hurt me? Get mad? Throw a hissy fit? I don't care, just get out of my way."

Without a choice, Kaoru stepped just enough out of her way for her to pass him. He watched her leave with a smirk tugging on his lips, but he didn't move a muscle until she had flung the door open and was half way down the hall.

He chuckled under his breath, cracked his fingers, then decided to follow her for his amusement.

"I'm a horrible brother."

* * *

"Haruhi, just wait a second-"

"If I spend all this time talking to you, Hikaru might go somewhere else and I'll have no idea where to look."

Kaoru chased her to the doorway to the entry hall. It was strange not to have a maid open the doors for him and ask if he needed anything, but when they looked into the foyer, it was obvious why that stuff didn't happen.

All the maids, even their cook, were rounded up in the large room. Their butlers were even there, and they were all flustered and laughing. He couldn't remember the last time the house was so loud, with happiness.

Among the crowd, were four of the former members of the Host Club. That didn't surprise him. He had seen them all climb over the fence, and heard them in the hall when they were looking for him. What caught his attention was the sound of his wife's voice, and the fact that she seemed to be the center of everyone else's attention.

Haruhi was well out of his sight when he stopped and saw Tamaki talking to Mayuki. He had kissed her hand, and didn't seemed to be putting much effort into making her blush. He had probably just said he liked her hair.

He didn't even know she was home, and Tamaki, someone he didn't even invite over, was making her laugh. Her face was taken over by all shades of pink from embarrassment.

From the pale face he always saw, he almost didn't recognize her.

While he was in a trance, there was a sharp whistle, and someone calling his name.

"Aie, Kaoru! There you are."

"Kao-chan!"

A hand came out of nowhere and grabbed his and, still being in his own world of hurt and rejection, was pulled forward without a fight.

He was pulled into the crowd of people, ignoring the giggling maids as they all stepped back to give the new, charming men some room.

"Kaoru we've been trying to talk to you," Tamaki grinned, his messy bangs falling over his forehead as his hand left his hair with a flick. "You're not the easiest person to locate-"

"I have my reasons," Kaoru said, his feelings making his voice bitter. "What're you doing here, Suoh?"

Tamaki frowned. "Look, Kaoru, I know-"

"You don't know a thing. You came here with Haruhi, and if you haven't noticed, she's already outside. Hurry up or she'll leave you behind."

"We didn't come here just to follow Haruhi around," Tamaki corrected, his brow creasing. "We wanted to talk to you. Are you still mad about what happened in High School? Because-"

"No. I just don't like seeing your face."

"We're really sorry."

"I don't want your apologizes."

Mayuki, who was standing behind Tamaki, straightened her face at the sight of her husband and hung her head low and passed the blonde without a word.

She tried to avoid Kaoru, but she didn't get far enough, because he grabbed her hand and pulled her towards him before she could escape.

"I didn't know you were home, May, why didn't you say something?" he whispered. "Your parents won't answer my calls. You have to make sure you at least tell _somebody_ when you leave so I don't worry about you."

He wasn't holding her tight, so she easily got free from him. "Why don't you track my credit card history? You seem to be pretty good at that."

"That was one time." He pouted. "And even if I did I wouldn't be able to know where you are, just what you buy."

"Well as long as I'm buying something, it means I'm not dead so you don't have to worry."

With that, she got away from him, and left a chilling breeze in her wake. Kaoru listened to her soft footsteps unit they were barely noticeable, then, returned to gaze to, Tamaki, who was looking at him with a sliver of sympathy.

"Um, so... was that your wife?"

"Oh? She didn't tell you that little bit while you were flirting with her?"

"Well, no she... didn't say a thing about that," Tamaki swallowed, then gasped. "Hey! I wasn't flirting with her. I was just looking for you."

"You just have to open your mouth and you start flirting," he hissed. "What'd you want?"

"I came here to apologize for what happened in school, and I'm not leaving until you accept it. What we did was out of line, and we're all sorry but it was mostly me. If I knew what was going on back then I would have handled it all differently but it was my mistake for not noticing it in the first place, so _I'm_ sorry." Tamaki said. "Can we just go somewhere and talk?"

"No."

And that was all he had to say to him. Kaoru turned on his heel, and started walking in the opposite direction Mayuki took.

Tamaki still stood there with his finger pointed, and his mouth open, ready to say what he was going to say to him. He glared and quickly shook it off.

"Okay fine, we'll do this the hard way." He pulled up his sleeves, but couldn't move as a hard grabbed his shoulder.

"Tamaki, we're leaving," Kyouya muttered in his ear. "Haruhi's waiting outside. Get in the car."

"Actually Kyouya, I have something to do," he turned to his best friend. "You make sure you go with Haruhi. Take Huni and Mori but... I'm staying here."

"Kaoru reject you?"

"Yes, that and... I sense a _couple_ in distress."

"A couple in... Tamaki, _no_."

"Go on, Kyouya. I have something to do. It's calling me."

"Tamaki, it's not your business. Get in the car."

"No, no... I must help them."

"No. We're leaving."

"I have to. I can't walk away when two significant others aren't getting along."

Kyouya sighed. "Whatever. We're leaving you."

"No kiss goodbye?"

" _No_."

* * *

 **I'm sorry for such a long chapter... T.T**

 **I feel like I'm ruining this story. I was so proud and so excited to write this one, and it's by far my favorite, but we're at chapter 27 and there's still so much more to the story to write. Please give me your thoughts. It isn't boring you, is it?**

 **As always, thank you so much for reading. See you in my next update. :)**

 **~Kc495**


	28. Chapter 28

**Destroyed**

* * *

Gravel grinded under Jurou's feet while he walked along the narrow path leading away from the busy street. He was glaring at his feet as he drug himself up the steps until his hand was jerked forward by another, much smaller one. It was then that his mouth broke into a tiny smirk.

"The things I do for you." He sighed.

"I'm so happy." Minori squeaked, grabbing his elbow.

"You're sure we're not going to get in trouble for this?"

"Positive."

Before Jurou could disagree with her again, she had already disappeared from his side and ran to the door. There was a Christmas wreath hung above the knob, but it was so dirty it probably was hung up last year.

Without even thinking, Minori rapped the knocker against the door, then took a step back, bumping into Jurou's chest. She was biting her lip, waiting for something to happen. The door neither opened or made a sound. She couldn't hear a thing but the faint sound of her partner's breath in her ear.

Then, something hairy brushed up against her leg, she didn't even look down to see what it was before she screamed and threw her arms around Jurou's neck, lifting her legs up until he put in the effort to hold her up.

He grunted at the sudden weight. "Minori-"

"I'm sorry. I change my mind," she whined, "I don't wanna do this. I wanna go home."

He made a face as something was continuously brushing against his pant leg. There was a tiny 'meow' and he looked down. His gaze being met with a large, hairy cat, rubbing it's face against him.

He felt Minori rubbing her own face into his neck. "If you were this nervous about coming, we shouldn't have left the mansion..."

She mumbled something, but he didn't catch what it was. He shooed the cat with his foot and let go of her legs, but she still held onto him.

"Mino."

She shook her head.

"If you don't let go, I'll just carry you back to the car."

She grumbled.

He sighed. He wrapped his arms around her again and turned his back to the door, cursing himself for not being more strict. Had he said no, they wouldn't have wasted their day off spending two hours in the car to get to this old lady's house.

Though, he was glad he didn't have to do more work.

Unfortunately for him however, he didn't get down but two of the steps before the door opened behind them. Jurou tried to ignore it, but Minori slipped out of his arms like water and got away from him.

"Honestly, it's like raising a pigeon," he declared, glaring at her as she ran back up the steps.

"Who's on my porch making so much noise at this time of day?" A voice came from the crack between the doorframe. "You think that, just because of my age, I don't have things to do? What'd you want?"

Minori stopped in her tracks, as the breath she was holding, suddenly escaped her lips. Yesterday, when she had called the old woman, a sweet chipper voice answered. This was the same voice, but there was annoyance in her tone, and the sound didn't match her features at all.

Her face was wrinkled, as should an old woman should look, but scars trailed along her cheeks and jaw, and the weight of her skin hung from her brow. A large mole stuck out on her chin, and from the shadow of inside the house, she looked truly terrifying.

"I..." the young girl squeaked. "I... I don't know..."

"Who are you?" The woman griped.

"M-Mino." She said, cursorily.

" _Mino_?"

"Minori," she bit her lip. "Are you miss Kazue? I called earlier. I'm sorry for such a sudden visit."

Jurou rolled his eyes and dragged himself back to her side. "I do apologize, ma'am. My attendant here-"

"Oh I know you now," the old lady nodded. "I didn't think you'd actually show up. Come on inside then. You'll let more of the cats out."

Minori bit her lip to keep herself from squealing. She was so locked up in her own little world off happiness that she didn't catch a piercing glare that was directed towards her from behind.

They were led into the house. It was clean and smelt of fresh pine, but it was noisy. The second they entered the main hallway, there was a sound of glass breaking, and the patter of tiny footsteps running away.

"Cats," Kazue answered. "Too many of them."

Jurou sniffled, rubbing his nose with his sleeve. He saw the excitement Minori portrayed so he wasn't going to mention that he was allergic to them. He flinched as there was a sharp hiss, and immediately raised his foot, noticing that he had just stepped on one of them.

"I'd offer tea, but I don't feel like it," she stated, leading them both to the living room. "Sit."

Minori, still slightly intimidated, did nothing but obey her. She sat on the sofa and folded her hands in her lap. Jurou took a seat beside her, grumbling under his breath of the nuisances of that day.

The room was small, but not too much so that they felt cramped. It was a cozy room with soft, un-matching décor and colors that it made the memories of the mansion so strange. Even with the smell of cats, it smelt like a nice family home.

The thought of that made Minori's heart ache for the family she served. The Nekozawa's were so damaged that it was hard for them to ever feel like a family at all.

With a heavy sigh, she looked across the table. Her eyes fell on the many picture frames and knitted knick-knacks. She gasped out-loud and reached for one of them without thinking.

"Your daughter," she blurted out, holding the photograph. "Is she one of these?"

Kazue blinked, her face naturally frowning. "Pardon?"

"These girls," she showed off the photo, holding it to her chest as if it were precious to her. "The one I asked you about over the phone. Is she one of them?"

"No." Her reply was so sudden, and dry that she was taken aback.

"Oh, I just thought-"

"The reason I agreed to meet you was because I was curious," she muttered, "as to why you'd want to know about that child. It was so long ago."

"...I'm sorry?"

"Those are my step-daughters. They were my husband's children." Kazue pointed to the photo, of the girls, they were in their teenage years, so the picture was old. "Though that baby from Aki, I have no idea what become of her. I didn't have her for very long."

Suddenly, the once chipper girl, fell back into the sofa, as if all the life had been drained from her using that one sentence.

"You what?"

"I put her up for adoption," she replied lightly. "I forgot how old she was, but she couldn't have been more than a week old. I didn't even give her a name."

"You don't know what happened to her? Where she went?" Minori's voice was deteriorating. "Not anything?"

"No. But why are you so interested to know?"

It wasn't as if she could really tell her why she was looking for her long lost daughter. It was complicated, and if she told too many people, she was sure to get in trouble with, Master Umehito.

"There's a severe genetic illness in Master Aki's family," she muttered, receiving yet another disapproving scowl from, Jurou. "That baby must've had it. All I wanted was to be able to locate her. The family doesn't even know she existed."

Kazue raised her brow. "And what makes you sure she's not still alive?"

 _Oh, I know she isn't._

"It's just that, she must be in her late forties or early fifties," she answered. "You can never be sure what happened to someone."

"And why is it so important that you know her or her whereabouts?"

"No, no," Minori shook her head. "I knew I wouldn't be able to find her. I was just hoping you'd be able to tell us if she ever had a family, or had her own child. If she did, I'm sure they're alive and well. If so, I wanted to bring them to the Family's estate. There isn't a lot of residents there, but there's a little girl who barely has anything, and if I could just... bring her someone to keep her company once in awhile, it would make the Master happy."

Kazue looked at her strangely, at the use of 'master', but didn't care enough to pry into that. "No. All I know about her is what her adopted parents wrote to me in that one letter I received. But that's all."

There was a spark in her eyes again. Minori looked up, and finally placed the useless photo back on the table. Jurou would have been more invested into the conversation, had it not been for a cat that had decided to jump on his lap.

"Yes, despite giving her away when she was so little, I did cherish this letter I got about her, once," The old lady reached over behind her, and grabbed a yellow envelop from the side table. "I dug it out when you called and asked about her."

Minori beamed. "Really? What does it say?"

With another strange look, Kazue opened the folder and slipped out a dirty, delicate, much smaller envelop, and handed it over to her.

"I was young when I had her," she said. "I didn't think much of this at the time, and seeing as Aki never wanted her, and barely spoke to me after that time we spent together, I gave her up. That family seemed over joyed with her so I never felt remorseful."

Minori's determined green eyes flickered across the letter, seeing nothing but useless gabber about two people being happy about having a baby. But it was what was below all that that caught her attention.

What was written, in faded ink, was 'She has grown to have such cute brown eyes. We call her baby Koto for short.' and below that and some more unimportant details, was marked the names of the people who wrote it.

 _Sighed: Sende + Yuske Yoshida._

The letter began to crinkle in her fingers. She let out a tiny squeak of happiness.

"This is perfect," Minori snatched a pen from her pocket and began scribbling the names on her hand. "These are the names of her parents. Then her last name was Yoshida. And they nicknamed her Koto. Juro, look!"

Jurou leaned back as her hand was shoved in his face. "But Mino-"

"Thank you," Minori squealed, standing up so fast she almost stumbled over. "This is more than I though we'd find. Jurou, come on! It'll be dark by the time we get back to the mansion."

Jurou sent the most apologetic look he could muster over towards the old, confused woman and stood up from his spot, after throwing another cat off his lap.

"I apologize for letting her loose," he said, hearing the front door slam. "I'll make she doesn't bother you again."

"Yeah, she seems really annoying..."

* * *

Mayuki was just stepping out of her bedroom, zipping up her sweater. She flipped her hair out from the collar and checked her pocket for her car keys for the fourth time.

She had been taking Kaoru's car every week, but all of a sudden she found her own keys back on her dresser, and the maids stopped warning her about leaving. She could only guess that he gave up the house-arrest because she would only leave at night anyway.

She didn't get enough sleep last night from after waking up to find that her husband had been in her room. He wouldn't have made it so obvious had there not been a bandage across her neck. And with the commotion those strange men made earlier, she barely had the emotional energy to go anywhere.

A yawn escaped her lips, but if she hadn't have been looking down at the floor, she would have walked right into the large vase of flowers in front of her door.

Her mouth lingered open as she stared at the large, colorful bouquet. There was a sunflower but the others were so exotic she couldn't tell what they were. Mayuki closed her mouth and glanced down both ends of the hallway. It was silent, and no one was in sight.

Her confusion didn't last long, and didn't take but a few seconds for it to turn to disgust as she picked up the vase and found a tiny greeting card attached to the side.

 **From:** _Kaoru_  
 **To:** _Mayuki_

Beside that, there was a price tag. A price tag for 50,000¥.

The price for the expensive flowers was the only thing holding her back from dropping the whole thing on the ground.

Instead, she brought it into her room and discarded it to the furthest table where it was out of her sight. Then she shut the door, now not in the mood to go anywhere that day.

* * *

Steam emitted from the bathroom door the moment Kaoru opened it. A soft towel was draped over his bare shoulders, and he used a piece of it to riffle his wet hair.

He didn't need a shower, but he needed something to keep him from going insane. The water had been so hot his skin had turned a concerning shade of pink, but it was relaxing, and helped him not want to murder the Host Club.

He couldn't erase the image of Tamaki and his wife smiling and laughing together, talking about something. He couldn't forget about how happy she looked.

It wasn't that her being happy was the reason he was so upset. He only wished to see her like that more often. It was the fact that _he_ wasn't the reason she was so happy.

It was always so easy to make her laugh, and everyone managed to do it. He was the only who couldn't figure out how. It was like a secret password to a sacred area that he forgot.

He could only imagine what sort of things she did with that person she mentioned she was seeing. She had been leaving and coming back to the house unannounced for the past year, if she was seeing this person for that long he didn't want to know how intimate they were.

As Kaoru was busy drying his hair, he wasn't paying attention to the floor, and his foot struck something. It was heavy, and he looked down to see a vase of flowers wobbling, ready to fall over.

He was staring at it oddly as he watched it hold it's balance. He threw his towel towards the chair to his desk and crouched down to pick up the vase. Flowers of different sizes was crowded in the vase, and a ribbon and bow stood out from it quiet loudly, exposing a tiny card off to the side.

 **From:** _Mayuki_  
 **To:** _Kaoru_

He frowned. "What the..."

He certainly didn't notice it before, so it must have been placed there while he was in the bathroom. He looked up, but there was no sign of anyone. He looked back down at the bouquet and the note, but he was too confused to fathom the idea that his wife gave him... _flowers_?

While Kaoru was glaring at the note and the very visible price tag, he didn't notice that his closet door was partly opened, and a pair of violet eyes were staring at him.

* * *

"Haruhi?"

"Haru-chan!"

The sound of Huni's voice shook her out of her thoughts. She turned to her side, and finally noticed that Huni's hand was on her shoulder.

"Sorry," she muttered, hugging her arms. "I was thinking."

Huni gave her a worried frown. "You're shaking."

She leaned away from him to be closer to the window. "It's a little cold in here. I'm fine."

Her teeth sunk into her lip. She wasn't fine, but lying was a lot easier than admitting what was really wrong with her. Being in Hikaru's room struck a nerve in her. She hadn't felt the same since she entered that hallway. During their long drive to Karuizawa, about half way there she started to feel sick. There were times she'd thought to ask the driver to pull over, but it didn't last long so she never mentioned it.

Her head hurt, her legs had fallen asleep no matter how much she moved, her fingers grew numb, and the beating of her heart wouldn't stop faltering. Her skin was warm yet she couldn't stop shivering. It was an inner chill, toying with her mind.

She couldn't have a cold. She was fine the day before. She couldn't be sick, but why did she feel so awful? She couldn't answer her own question. In response to a throb in her head she buried her face in her hands.

Huni glanced to his cousin, who only gave him a shrug, he sighed and laid his hand on the crook of her elbow.

"Are you worried about, Hika-chan?" he whispered.

She hesitated before mumbling into her hands. "Not anymore."

He removed his hand and stared into his lap. "I wonder why Kao-chan knew but didn't want to tell anyone."

"I don't know."

He looked at her, but didn't reply. After a moment, he moved across the limo's seat back to Mori's side.

"I have to ask," Kyouya said, after a brief silence. "What makes Hikaru so special that we're going through such lengths to bring him back to his home, which he doesn't want to be brought back to?"

"I have to ask him something," she answered, "and while I'm there, I'll try to get him to go home. It's selfish for him to run away while he's sick and not tell his family. Kaoru only knew because he found out after he left. I guess... he didn't want to tell me, to give Hikaru privacy."

Haruhi closed her eyes tightly, digging her fingers into her forehead.

"From what you've said, you make him out to be a nuisance," he spoke without raising his gaze from his tablet. "What was it about him that made you like him?"

"I never said I liked him like that," she argued.

"I'd really hate to bring back painful memories and such, but I did manage to run across some interesting _articles_."

"Not you, too," she groaned, throwing her head back against the seat. "Should've known getting involved with a model that there'd be paparazzi, but I'd like to forget about those."

"The Host Club incident back in high school wasn't the only reason why Tamaki wanted to come along," Kyouya muttered. "He was concerned Hikaru might be using you."

She glared. "What'd you mean?"

"I think you know what I mean..."

There was a suggesting look in his eyes behind his glasses. It took her a moment to understand, but when she did, she was horrified.

"No." she replied bitterly. "He wouldn't do that."

"It all looks staged if you ask me." He grumbled. "It's a wonder how to paparazzi managed to get such revealing photos."

No one said anything else for the rest of the drive, but it didn't matter much, as they didn't have much further to go. She closed her eyes, and when she opened them again they were already driving into the small, dirt parking lot.

Haruhi threw off her seat belt before the car could come to a complete stop. She would always come to Karuizawa with her father for a vacation, or just to see his friends. Huni had to grab her hand as she was about to run right into a car that was pulling out.

The first thing she looked for was Hikaru's car. A black Audi s6 couldn't be to hard to find, but apparently she was wrong. It was nowhere to be seen.

Inside the pension, was no different than it was ten years ago. From years of customers and positive recommendations there was obvious changes. Such as fancy new table cloths and curtains, and more customer friendly décor, but nothing drastic. It was as it should be. A friendly cottage-like bed and breakfast.

Huni was taken by the smell of fresh breads and cake, but Haruhi went straight to the front desk.

"Good evening," a small girl piped up, beaming charmingly. "Can I help you?"

"I'm looking for someone."

Haruhi's straightforward answer made the girl blink and stand there silent for a moment. She recovered quickly and smiled.

"Ah, a date?"

"No. Just a guy."

"Oh, okay..." she gave a quick glance over her shoulder. "I don't have control of the computer. What's his name?"

"Hikaru Hitachiin."

"Ah... sorry, I don't think I've heard of that name here." The girl turned around, looking around the corner in the kitchen. "Misuzu, I need help."

There was a scramble, and the sounds of pots clinging together, but it didn't take long for a sparkling face to appear from behind the curtain. He looked sweaty from grilling dinner, but that didn't discourage his friendly appearance.

"Ah, Haruhi!" Misuzu grinned, discarding his cooking apron almost instantly. "You're the last person I thought I'd see. It's been so long."

Haruhi forced a sheepish smile and let him snatch up her hands over the counter. "Yeah... two years, at least."

He looked above her head and saw three men behind her. "Oh! I remember you, you're Haruhi's friends. It's been even longer. You've all sure have grown up some."

Mori gave an awkward look towards the floor as he saw Misuzu wink at him.

"It has been some time," Kyouya agreed. "You've kept the place up nicely."

"Oh yes, and you've met my new assistant." He turned to his side, throwing his arms out to display the girl. "She's just the darlingest thing, isn't she? I hired her last year."

The girl was too busy staring at Kyouya to notice what he was saying about her.

Haruhi shifted awkwardly on her feet. "Yeah, it... really looks great here, but-"

"It's gotten a bit cold outside hasn't it? The weather out here sure is unpredictable, it looks like it might rain. You got here okay, didn't you?"

"Um... yeah, but-"

"Hmm? Is something the matter, Haruhi?" He looked down at her curiously, then gasped. "Oh no, the pension doesn't accept reservations after 5. You didn't come for a room, did you?"

She shook her head. "No. I uh... I'm looking for someone. He has a reservation here. Do you know if A... Mr. Hitachiin is here?"

"Oh yes, as if I could forget about him," he laughed. "He's handsome, but very reserved. Doesn't talk much. Why?"

She looked down at her shoes, almost too embarrassed to speak. "I... need to see him."

Misuzu hummed, pressing his finger to his lips. "I'll see, then." He gestured them to the other side of the counter. "Did I ever tell you about my new website? It's brilliant. It's more efficient than scheduling over the phone. My assistant Yumi over there even helped design it with pretty flowers."

Anything he said came through one ear and came out the other. Haruhi's fingers rapped against the desk, trying not to combust from a annoying, distant pain and frustration.

"Yes, he's right here," he pointed to something on the screen, but from their angle they couldn't see it. "Oh uh... But he's requested a private room. It says 'do not disturb' meaning I can't give any information. I'm sorry."

"What?" her voice squeaked. "Well... what's his room number?"

"Sorry, Haruhi, but I can't say." He frowned. "It's against policy."

And that was it, that was the straw that broke the camel's back. She inhaled and it came out a rugged breath. She blinked, and felt her shoulders shake. This time, her heart hurt, but it wasn't what she had been feeling all day. This kind of pain was something else. It was like a sliver of the feeling she had when she was told Hikaru was dying.

What was she doing? Why was she chasing after _him_? Was seeing him this important? Every setback was slowly breaking her heart and she didn't know why. The veins in her arms froze like ice and she almost couldn't move them. It wouldn't be so scary if she was exaggerating it, but it was real. She really couldn't move them.

She took a step back. "...Okay."

 _If he even wanted to talk to me in the first place he wouldn't have ran away._

 _Take a hint, Haruhi._

Huni pouted. He bit his lips and stood on his toes to reach over the counter. "Isn't there anything you could do? We came all this way just to see him."

Misuzu shook his head. "No. I can't. I'm sorry, but Mr. Hitachiin doesn't even come down for food and I've never seen him leave. I'm guessing he really came here to be alone."

Haruhi's ears perked. _He hasn't even eaten?_

She heard Kaoru's voice in the back of her mind, behind everything else.

 _"It has something to do with you, and if he's meant to have it, he'll take it. But he wont accept that. He wouldn't use you that way."_

 _"This is why he tried so hard to get arrested. If he was in prison he wouldn't be able to hurt anybody."_

 _"There's something that can help him, but he'd rather die than have it."_

"But, Haru-chan loves him."

She froze. She turned with a horrified look on her face, and opened her mouth to deny that, but no one was looking at her.

Yumi, the assistant, looked at her boss, than towards the three men who still stood there, looking directly into the soft eyes of the short one. She puckered her lips and looked back at Misuzu.

"It wouldn't be that bad," she urged him.

"Well..." he gazed at the computer, perplexed. "I suppose I've never been the one to stand in the way of the hands of love." He pressed a button and the printer began making a smooth clicking sound. He hesitated. "You know, Haruhi... I don't mean to take credit for anything, but I _was_ the one who convinced your father to ask your mother out on their first date."

Haruhi said nothing as he ripped off a small piece of paper, and slid it over to her with a knowing smirk.

She looked down at the piece of paper, a room number was printed on it. She should've known it wouldn't be too hard to find him, as there couldn't be too many rooms to chose from. Considering the number was _9_.

Huni took his eyes off her for just a moment to look at the fresh plate of cupcakes that Yumi just sat beside him.

He turned on his heel, and opened his mouth to ask Haruhi if they could stay for coffee, but she was already gone.

* * *

" _Dammit_."

She had confidence a few seconds ago. What happened to it?

She didn't know what she would say to him first, but it would be something. All those feelings were suddenly drained from her the moment she touched the doorknob to his room. There was a shock through her fingers, as if she had ran her palm across a static field on a television, then she didn't know what she was doing. She felt like an empty shell.

Haruhi raised her hand, and she knocked. There was no answer so she knocked again, a little louder than her past soft patter, but still, there was nothing.

Was this an invasion of his privacy? Maybe, but she was concerned. Not about him, no. She stopped feeling that way a long time ago, after she was sure he was still alive. It was about her, and she felt in her gut that Hikaru was the only one who could help.

She turned the knob and the door pushed right open, in fact, it wasn't even fully shut. Inside the room was nearly pitch black, but the switch wasn't hard to find. She was taken aback at the sight when the room was engulfed in light. Never in her life had she seen such a mess.

Clothes were spewed across the floor, the mattress was upturned and laid half on the rug half on the bedstead. The sheets and bedspread were hung over the windows, and a picture frame that once hung on the wall, was on the floor, laying amongst shards of broken glass.

A familiar feeling washed over her, just as it had done when she walked into Hikaru's bedroom at the mansion. Her legs felt weak, but she wasn't sure if it was from the pain or from the sight she was seeing.

Her feet were frozen to the floor, until a horrible thought crossed her mind. It had been dark, and Hikaru wasn't in the room. She felt her heart clench and fall to a sickening depth in the pit of her stomach.

She pushed away from the doorframe and ran to the other side of the room. Glass crunched under her feet on her way to the bathroom, and she grew hesitant as it was like a tunnel of darkness from the other room. The door was partly shut, until she threw it open, but when she stepped, her foot didn't touch the tile. Under her shoe was a dirty rag.

"...Hikaru?" her voice was shaky.

When Haruhi turned that light switch on, she had to cover her mouth to hide her scream.

There was more, but not much, glass on the floor. The shower curtain was tangled and thrown off to the side of the tub. The cabinet was throw open, and everything that was inside of it was either thrown or had fallen out, and on the sink there was blood. There was so much of it.

Maybe not too much, but god there was enough of it, and there was even more of it on the rag she had stepped on. Her hand fell from her face, and it was more frightening that the blood was fresh, because it had even gotten on her fingers. The only thing she had touched though, was the light switch.

Her legs lost all life, when she tried to step away, her body felt like it was standing on clouds. The shock had made her stumble, her hand reached for the doorframe, but it had disappeared from her reach, and she fell backwards.

Her heart stopped when she fell into a pair of arms. Arms that was gone around her waist. The heat of another one's chest against her back sent a chill down her spine. She laid paralyzed against them, as hot breath trailed down the map of her collarbone.

"What're you doing here, Haruhi?" They whispered darkly in her ear.

She looked down at their arms, and finally knew where the blood had come from. The grip on her waist tightened when she didn't reply.

"Oh, Hikaru," her voice trembled with a painful sob. "What did you do?"

"That's none of your business." She shook from the anger in tone. "Why do you keep following me?"

Haruhi could barely breathe past the lump her throat. "What did you _do_ to yourself?"

"It doesn't matter. Why can't you just leave me alone?" He hissed. His arms left her, and he pushed her forward. "Why aren't you like everyone else?"

She grabbed the sink before she could topple over. He was backing away from her, but couldn't get out of her sight before she could see him in the light.

His hair, once just unruly, was now a tangled mess, his skin was pale the sleeves of his hoodie were rolled up, and the large, terrifyingly deep cut on his arm made her tears finally escape from under her lashes.

Haruhi stared at the cut on his cheek, speechless. "...Did you do that yourself?"

Hikaru hesitated. He glanced down at his arm and even he looked alarmed. He quickly pulled his sleeve down to hide it, though not before his blood ran down the back of his hand. He looked up, as if he was about to answer her, but no words ever came out of his mouth.

He could hear his heart beat in his ears, and he hated how sick to his stomach the painful tenderness in her face made him feel.

Without warning, he turned around and ran.

Haruhi was too shocked to move, but his frightened expression haunted her until she had no choice against herself but to ran after him.

 _Mother... I wish you could explain these feelings to me. They're not what I thought._

* * *

 **I bet Hikaru has some sexy calves. He sure does run a lot.**

 **No one is allowed in the next chapter, so I had to spit them all out in this one. It seems rushed to me, even if I put so much thought into it. It's just a filler but I hope you still enjoyed it. :) The next chapter shouldn't take long, so,** _au revoir,_ **my friends. ~**


	29. Chapter 29

**Make You Mine**

* * *

He was angry.

Words could not describe how furious he was with himself, with her, with everything. His anger was consuming him to the point he couldn't even feel the pain that was destroying his body.

She wouldn't quit. No matter how hard he pushed and shoved, verbally attacked her, she would always find him. No matter how far, or how fast he'd run away from her. It was as if it was a sixth sense of hers to telepathically track his path.

Even if he was out of town, hiding out in a small bed n' breakfast in the mountains, without telling anyone where he was going; she still found him.

When he heard her tiny, frightened voice, and wrapped his arms around her as she fell into him, he felt her soft skin and subconsciously held her tighter. When she was pressed against him, he smelt her strong, burning sent that his own body desired, he had to push her away.

His body was once again having withdraws. He had her, he ran away, ached for her every single day, and unexpectedly had a piece of her, now couldn't get her out of his head. Every cell in him cried for her, and maybe it had drove him crazy, because he swore he could hear the hundreds of thousands of tiny little voices, screaming at him in agony, just begging him to go back.

 _Go back. Take her. Hold her, and don't let go. She's practically yours._

 _Just give up._

 _Stop fighting an indomitable temptation. It's useless._

 _Make her yours and it'll be all over._

 _You're a prisoner in your own body._

He barely had the strength to lift his legs, much less run. He dashed out of the pension, ignoring the sounds of what sounded like Huni yelling after him, though not stopping him, only making his presence apparent.

He fell against his car outside, physically spent. The pounding of his heart drowned out the sounds around him, except his labored breath as he tried to force open the drivers door of his Audi.

 _No luck, Sherlock._ He had left his keys in the room.

Though, when he turned around, his body was met with something behind him.

"H-Hikaru"

Haruhi's sweaty face was a mere few inches from his own. Her hand was against his chest when they collided.

He screamed, and awkwardly scrambled away, leaving his dignity behind him.

"Hikaru- wait!" Her shout barely reached him.

He knew he wasn't fast, as she wasn't fast either yet her footsteps were getting closer and closer. Feeling like pray, being chased by the terrorizing sunlight, full of growling, hissing beasts that could eat him alive, he couldn't stay on his own feet. He was stumbling, trying to lose her.

The harder he ran, the harder his heart worked to pump blood. Blood that was ridden with the infectious virus that worked even harder to kill him. As children, they were always told not to play too rough, and work themselves too hard, and yet he seemed to be doing that a lot lately. Even more so towards the fragile part of his life.

A painful cough tore through his lungs. The ache in his chest made it even worst. This was the worse he had ever felt, and he knew he needed to quit before everything would stop working, but he could smell her. Her godawful, but enticing scent was abusing his every nerve.

What the hell did I fall for?

What is it about her?

His mind was a mess, his surroundings were practically invisible. There were voices, but the only one he was straining to hear was Haruhi's. On impulse to the feeling of his shoulder brushing against someone else, he incidentally pushed himself between two people on the sidewalk. Deaf to their insults, he just kept running.

When he'd injure himself, his blood would work to repair the damage, too concerned to think about the rest of his body. Sometimes it would make his dying body feel at ease, but earlier, he had cut himself a little too deep, and now his sweat beneath his jacket was making his wound sting.

He hissed for air, but it was too hard to breathe.

 _How long are you going to keep running? Where are you going?_

 _I don't know._

 _I don't hear her anymore. Maybe she gave up on you._

 _I... I can't stop._

Clouds began to build up in the sky, and they slithered over the remains of the sun. He thought that maybe it was his vision growing faint from exhaustion, but as he stopped to catch his breath, a single drop of water fell on his cheek.

 _Is it... raining?_

Suddenly, there was heavy, deep puffing, someone fighting for air as badly as he was. He leaned forward, resting his hand on a lamppost. His fingers dug into the wood as the rest of his body gave up on the weight.

"Please, Hika," she gasped, "just... stop- stop running."

He said nothing. His legs went limp, and he fell against the post, being consumed by a coughing fit. His throat felt wet and fear struck, driving him from his thoughts to reality.

Feeling sick, he wiped the side of his mouth, and there it left a vague trace of blood on his sleeve.

 _Ah, so it starts..._

"Whatever I did... I'm sorry." Haruhi said, her voice trembling ever so slightly. "I'm sorry if I upset you, or if you just hate me for the sound of my voice, I'm sorry. I just want to talk. Please."

 _She's not apologizing for what she's really doing to you._

 _Aren't we obvious enough? Can't she see that she's causing this pain?_

"No," Hikaru growled. "No. Go away."

"Hikaru, please. It's im-

"I said no!" he turned his head and yelled. "Just leave me alone. What am I to you? What did I do to you? Stop following me." His voice began to sink. "I... I can't do this anymore..."

Haruhi blinked, and she kept blinking until she could see straight again. The air was growing colder, and as she lacked any outer clothing, she shivered.

Her throat tightened, looking into his wild, furious eyes. "...You're hurt."

"What'd you care?" he managed, breathless. "This is your fault. I wouldn't be like this if you didn't show up in the first place. I was fine before you got involved."

She flinched. "Well if you'd just let me-"

"No," he felt another raindrop on his hand as he backed away. "You're obsessed with me. Go back home, find some other sucker to waste your time on, I don't care. I'm not your problem anymore."

"It's not about that," Haruhi took a step forward. "I never thought of you as a problem. I just wanted to help you. You're hurting yourself because of me, look at your arm."

Out of spite, he didn't want to do anything she said. He wanted to purposely ignore her, but he did glance down, and his wound had already started to bleed into his sleeve. He pointedly hid it out of her sight.

She frowned. "You need help."

"No I don't." He argued.

"You do. I've seen it. It's bad and it's going to get infected."

"It's none of your business."

"It's my fault you got hurt, isn't it? so let me look at it."

"No." He took another step back as she came closer. "And if you followed me all the way out here just to look at my-"

"I didn't," she was close to combusting out in frustration. "I came to talk to you. I'm sick of you running away all the time, I need-... _Hey!"_

Before she could continue, he let out a annoyed growl and turned his back to her, stumbling slightly as he took off running, again.

 _"Hikaru, stop it!"_

There was a rumble of thunder.

She kept coming closer, finally he had to gather all the energy he had left to run away from her scent. Every argument made it grow more intense. Every time she looked at him with soft, concerning eyes, wanting to help him. Every time she's do or say something stupid, forcing himself to contain any laughter. Every few seconds of every day he wanted to just touch her small hands, just to hold them because of an old habit.

Every time she'd make little gestures to show that she cared about him.

It was as If falling for her was like falling down a flight of stairs.

Every time she'd make little gestures to show that she cared about him, was like tumbling down hundreds of stairs within seconds. Soon he was going to tumble himself into a pit, one he wouldn't be able to crawl back out of.

And he'd be stuck there, with her.

And she would despise him.

It was one thing to deny it to your family, but it was impossible to lie to yourself, so he wasn't. Now that he was sure of his own feelings, he was scared. The fate his last name carries was haunting, and if he didn't run fast enough, he'd lose everything.

He'd lose control of himself. He'd lose the last bit of will he had to live. He'd lose his mind, and hers, and the likeness she admitted to having for him.

So he kept running, and running, despite his exhaustion, despite the tearing cough in the back of his throat, despite the horrible wheezing he heard behind him, and he kept trying to run faster.

Just a little more, just until she gets too tired.

Why was she still trying so hard? He wasn't important, they weren't together. Not once has he ever confessed his undying love to her. What was it?

 _God, why do I hate this so much?_

 _Because you like her back?_

 _I can't like people. I'm not allowed to._

Without warning, he lost his footing on the damp grass, and he stumbled forward again. He leaned over and gasped for air. He didn't hear anything. Maybe he finally lost her when he cut that corner...

Not so. His heart stopped it's vicious pounding when he felt something touch his back. Hikaru had no time to register when it was, or to even get away from it, as something heavy slammed into him, and pushed him down.

He groaned as he landed flat on his face in the dirt.

There was a whispered voice, and the weight left as Haruhi rolled off his back onto hers beside him, covering her face.

"Please stop running," she begs as a sob tears through her throat. "I don't know why you're..." she pants, "but... I can't keep this up. The further you move away the more it hurts. If I lose you again I think it'll kill me."

Smelling her so close, he panicked and sat up, seconds later he hissed and doubled over in pain.

He found what little life he had left to scoot away, until he found a tree to lean against.

"God, I don't care anymore, just stay away from me." He coughed, and held his side. "If it hurts you stop running after me. I'm not worth it, so stop."

"I can't! That's what I was trying to tell you. I can't." she shouted past a dry mouth. "It hurts even being next to you, but it's worse when I'm not."

Hikaru breathe heavily, felling limb against the tree trunk, as more raindrops began to fall on his face. "That's not my problem."

"I can't stop it," she whispered, hiding her face. "Ever since that night everything's been weird. During that time we always saw each other... I always thought you smelt nice, but this is different."

 _Is it..._

 _Oh... fuck._

He glared, as if rejecting that thought. "What night? What're you... talking about?"

"That night," Haruhi hesitated. "That one night we spent together... in my car."

He opened his mouth wide, but closed it again. A wild blush over came his cheeks. "You don't need to bring that up!"

She seemed completely unfazed. "I haven't felt the same, and you made it sound like... what you have is... contagious."

Oh god, was she trying to kill him?

"That's not how it works!"

With the way his heart was beating, it would appear so.

"You used to do it too..." her voice was barely audible through the pitter-patter of the rain. "Everyday... you used to always keep me close to you. You always smelt my hair. You always seemed at ease when we were together then."

He was silent. He had no idea he had been that obvious.

"I think..." her jaw clenched in awkwardness. "I think you got me sick, too."

 _But... that's impossible._

Hikaru winched as he tried to sit up, still holding his side. He wasn't sure what hurt under his hand, but whatever it was, it hurt him enough to practically immobilize him.

"So please stop running away," she repeated. "I don't know what's wrong with me, but it hurts so much."

Now slightly concerned and disturbed at the same time, but refusing to let her see it, Hikaru shifted against the tree, moving away from her. Though no matter how far he would decide to crawl away, there was no getting away. She was in the air, in his head, in his lungs. Doing anything was pointless.

A lone raindrop slid down his cheek.

His eyes rolled over to her, laying in the dirt, hiding her face in her hands. He watched her tremble, and while he could hint the sadness in her voice, he was hoping that it was from the chill in the air.

"I..." he whispered. "I can't help you."

"You _can't_ , or you _don't want to_?"

" _What_?"

Her hands fell from her face, and the grass and mud molded around her cheek as she face him, rain falling off the tip of her nose. Her expression was somber.

"You're just like me, aren't you?" she asked, in a soft but matter-of-fact tone. "I think I understand some things now-"

"You don't know anything," he cut her off sharply. "But you regret it now, don't you? I told you before not to get involved with me and now look at you."

"I don't regret anything," she replied, not paying attention to the dramatic change in his expression. "And I don't hate you. But I know you're just doing this for me. I've pieced it together enough. You make me feel better, and I know it's like that for you too, isn't it?"

"Well jeeze, if I could make _myself_ feel better, we wouldn't have this problem."

"Me, you idiot."

"I don't want to talk about this."

"I always thought it was because you were mad at me for making you go to court and pay your fines," Haruhi chose to ignore his cold stare. "But that wouldn't make sense. You were mad at me before you even knew who I was. You ran away because you don't like the way I smell."

His nose curled in a scowl. "You... what?"

"I don't like the way you smell either," her wet bangs plastered to her forehead as she sat up. "You smell so weird. It hurts my lungs."

"That's just stupid." He declared.

 _And terrifying._

"Then why am I the only one you run away from? What did I do?"

"I..."

His face has grown exceptionally red, both from exhaustion and embarrassment, but he doubted it was noticeable through the rain, that had grown harsher since they stopped.

And since he had worked his body to it's limit, his brain could only go so far. It could only go so far on normal days, but it was even worse now that he was physically and emotionally distressed.

While thinking, his eyes drifted and locked with hers. Those big round, adorable dopey brown eyes, glazed with a thin layer of tears. Of course he couldn't think of anything. She hadn't done anything to him; at least to a logical person, she didn't. But to him, she made him rethink everything he thought he knew, and came into his life, stirring it into an ever-going spiraling loop.

After an ex from college, he was an empty shell. An individual with no purpose, no will, and only one thing he looked forward to. His own death. But this girl, the one who, now was close enough to reach out and touch, had changed everything. It was infuriating, but so wonderfully exciting.

His throat jerked, as he couldn't think of anything, and the silence between was growing too comfortable.

Hikaru opened his mouth, bursting with stubborn determination but whatever he was planning on spitting out of his mouth, was cut off by a low vibration in the sky. Seconds later, the sky lit up vibrantly with a sharp cackle and a bright strike of lightening.

A different shock shot through Haruhi's spine, and out of years of habit, she fell forward, ducking her head from the sudden horrifying storm. She felt so tiny, but warm, as her movement landed her face first right into Hikaru's chest.

His gut wrenching scent made her whole body stiffen.

Hikaru had flinched from the lightening, but what really caught him off guard was Haruhi promptly leaning into his lap, with her face pressed into his shirt. His heart practically exploded out of his chest as certain senses came to life and nearly swallowed him whole. He panicked and threw her backwards.

Her body jerked, but she honestly didn't feel a thing when she hit the ground. Her consciousness had faded, while still being widely awake. There was a stinging pain in her head and she covered her face again. When he pushed her, she had bit her tongue, and she could taste the vague presence of blood. That pain behind her eyes returned and she let out a pained hiss.

He stared at her in shock, looking as if he had just ran accidentally murdered someone. He didn't _mean_ to push her.

And, as though there was a badly cued play, a rumbling tore through the clouds, and a shockingly loud boom of thunder lashed out, leaving a crisp growl, as if it was laughing in mockery. Haruhi's whole body jumped, and felt the grass scratch her bare arms as she trembled.

Hikaru felt incredibly guilty, and wanted to reach out to her, but his own selfish fear kept him frozen in place.

There was nothing more annoying than being in pain and not knowing where the pain was coming from. Her knuckles grew white from the intensity, but there was no more effort left in her body and her hands fell to the ground again.

It was a strange sensation. Different feelings were whirling together, creating something entirely new. She was sure she never felt this way before but still, it felt so familiar.

She opened her eyes, blinking against the rain falling on her face. "...It won't stop."

Hikaru kept his mouth shut. His hand hugged the tree trunk as he tried to stand. There was a nagging feeling in his gut, wanting so bad to be near his brother, just to hold him and complain. His inner child was crying, just wanting to be held and told it's going to be okay.

He looked back at Haruhi and was sure he wasn't the only one who felt that way. She was covered in dirt (no thanks to him), trembling, and her face was a mixture of rain and fresh hot tears. Her eyes-... He froze.

Through the wind and the rain, his eyes fell on hers again. Her doe brown eyes were gone. They were grey, shining so brightly they almost looked silver. There was a spark. He didn't know where, but his body jerked, not being able to pry his own away.

Haruhi laid still, looking at him, though seeming to be completely oblivious that he was looking back at her. That strange scent made her oblivious to everything. Even the cold wet ground.

Her voice was quiet, but she was completely emotionless. "Hikaru..."

"Oh, Haruhi..." Unlike her, all of his emotions were crowded on his face all at once. He looked devastated. "What have I done to you?"

In a single motion, Hikaru pushed himself away the tree, trying to force his regained energy towards his legs. He stood up, but took one step before his knees buckled. He fell to his knees beside her, clenching his teeth as he watched her innocent gaze.

Haruhi didn't know what to do as the distance between them narrowed. She raised herself up on her elbows, but the ground left her as he scooped her up in his arms. Then his warmth surrounded her as she was brought close to his chest. His personal scent was gone and all she could smell was the scent of his not-so-fresh shirt.

He didn't think; he didn't need to. It was a desire that wrapped around his heart and pushed his forward. His arms went around her because he wanted to. He didn't know what happened to her, what changed her, but he knew it was his fault.

His arms tightened around the small of her back and held her head against her shoulder. After a moment, her arms carefully snaked around his neck.

When he and his brother were little, and his brother was upset, he never had to say anything. He just hugged him and everything would piece itself back together and fix itself.

How do you comfort a... _girl_? He was out of practice.

"I..." his throat clogged. "...I'm sorry."

Haruhi shifted her weight to rest her face against the crook of his neck. The pain she felt faded to a distant throb and her body finally felt a little at ease, so much so she felt, the moment her eyes closed, that she might fall asleep in his arms.

Behind him, she watched a puddle form around the base of the tree trunk.

"We should get out of the rain," she muttered, "before we get sick."

Hikaru was so comfortable holding her, he almost forgot she was there.

"...Yeah," except he wasn't going to tell her he couldn't get sick. "In a sec'. The pension's so far away.."

Even with her hair stuck to her skin being a reminder to get up, she didn't fight him. This moment was too nice to end yet.

* * *

The pension was far away, and while exhausted from the long run, they didn't go back; not just yet at least.

When they both worked up enough strength to stand and walk, they walked the opposite direction, leaning against each other, barely speaking a word.

Within minutes of walking, out of a stroke of serendipity, through the misty downpour they walking straight into the path of a quaint church. The large oak doors were blown open from the wind and they took it as a silent invitation to let themselves in.

A silent strike of lightening lit up the paneled stain-glass windows, lightening it up enough for them to find their way around. Shivering, they hobbled awkwardly to one of the many benches and fell against it like ragdolls.

Without much thought, Haruhi shifted closer to him, out of a natural response to the cold, and had brushed against his arm. He hissed and hurriedly ripped it away from her.

She gave his dirty sleeve a weary glance but decided not to say anything about it.

"I'm sorry." A low grumble escaped under her breath.

He kept his arm over his middle. "It's fine."

"Er... about earlier," she added. "I'm sorry I... made a big deal about this. About... _you_. I was just..." Her words died.

Hikaru looked down at her fingers that were kneading her goose bump covered arms. He looked down at his own hand he held in a fist. "Me too..."

"For pushing you." He added, before she could ask, why. "I didn't mean to. That was harsh."

When she didn't reply, an awkward empty silence settled in between them. Neither of them said a thing for the longest time. They just sat there, side by side, shivering, trying to make sense of their own feelings, and pain.

It wasn't until Haruhi opened her mouth that Hikaru finally spoke up again.

"You didn't bring a coat."

She scoffed, hugging herself, trying to keep her jaw from chattering. "I left my house in a rush. I didn't grab a jacket. It wasn't too cold earlier and I didn't think I'd spend the rest of the day... outside."

He hesitated. Because the reason they were outside in the first place was mostly _his_ fault.

When she turned, their eyes met in a awkward and embarrassed glance. He made it a point to look directly into her eyes, and was happy they had gone back to brown. Grey did _not_ suit her.

"Why did you-" he paused, "-come after me? Even after what you saw."

Haruhi turned to stare at him. She wasn't sure what he met. She'd seen a lot of things while she had been with him, a lot of strange things, so there wasn't any pinpointing one particular time, so she summed it all up in one great big _something_.

"Because I was worried about you..." she muttered at last. "Especially after what happened. It wasn't until I got to your house that I noticed something was wrong, but before that, I _was_ just worried about you."

This didn't please him. His forehead creased in a deeper scowl. " _Why_?"

"I thought you might've been dead. Of course I was going to go look for you."

He felt the water from his hair drip and slide down his temple. He tried to move even further away from her. A strong sense of buried anger bubbling in his chest.

"But why?" he exhaled, frustrated for reason he didn't understand. "Why would you... worry about me?"

"I dunno," he eyes drifted towards the large angel statue in the largest window. "Maybe it's cause... I don't think you can take care of yourself."

"What?"

"The Host Club's a second family to me," she mumbled awkwardly. "Maybe since... you were once apart of it too, I felt like I needed to protect you from... _yourself_."

"All because of the Host Club," he grumbled, as if he hadn't heard anything else she had said. "That's why..."

"No," Haruhi glared back at him stubbornly, then sighed, noticing the distance he made between them. "Because I... I like you, too."

There wasn't a lot of time after those words escaped past her lips, that Hikaru turned to her, glaring, and raising his voice to emphasize everything he said.

"That!" he huffed. " _Why_? What have I ever done? What makes me so special that it made you _like_ me?"

Taken aback, Haruhi curled her nose in her own frown, but it was a sad one. "Why is it so surprising when someone says that?"

"Because..." he paused, to think of a reason, but he kept it inside and looked down at his lap.

"Hikaru," her tone softened with sympathy, sympathy for what? she wasn't sure, because she couldn't read his face. There it was again. That scowling mask that hid every other expression he may have.

Her small cold hand reached out for his. He shook when her fingers brushed against his wrist, and he tried to pull away, but she entwined their fingers and pulled their balled up hands close to her chest.

"I don't know who hurt you, or made you think you're not good enough for everyone else but people do like you, a lot, and so do I." She bit her lip as she watched the look on his face soften. "I don't know why you think you don't deserve to be _liked_ , but I don't think I could stop liking you, even if I wanted to."

He opened his mouth, but she didn't let him speak.

"Because you're different. Not in a bad way. Something happened, and I don't know what it was, but it broke you. It broke you _so bad_ you feel like you can't let your guard down around anyone else. I'm not even sure you know how to be anything but defensive and angry."

"Anything else about you is displayed so vaguely that I can count on one hand the times I've seen you genuinely smile." She added, firmly. "I think it's beautiful when you're happy. And it's disturbing that you're only happy when you're not paying attention to yourself."

"I want to help you. I want to be with you all the time so I can see you be happy more often." Her voice slowly died down to nothing as she finished. Her fingers tightened around his as she flushed and looked down towards her shoes. His silence only made her fell more embarrassed.

Feeling her fingers snug between his, he subconsciously held hers even tighter. His mouth was still open from her outburst, and he was still trying to regain the ability to speak. The bubbling feeling he had had completely faded away. Something else was emerging in it's place. It was a feeling so alien and strange he wanted to grasp it, scream at it, and throw it away.

 _My chest feels tight._

Haruhi grumbled, trying to hold his hand tighter. She felt like he might try to run away.

But that didn't happen. He moved closer, so close their legs were pressed together. She moved her gaze to their hands, then to his face, but he still stared at her, his eyes and mouth open.

A shiver ran down her spine as his other hand gently brushed against her cheek, wiping her damp skin with his long soft fingers. Those fingers furtively hid in her hair, then sneaked behind her head. She felt it, but she was too busy looking straight into his darkly tinted eyes. Ones that showed nothing, but some sort of hidden emotion.

Without a word, he brought her flush against him, and pressed against her lips, with the sweet softness of his.

Haruhi was about to say something else, as he stilled looked confused, but he had pulled her close and kissed her. The stillness and the light touches of his fingers across her skin brought a warmth inside her chest. She wanted to pull away, to finish what she was saying, but maybe this as his way of showing that he understood.

His fingers caressed the nape of her neck, trying to pull her even closer. His other hand left the cage she held them in and cupped her cheek, to tilt her head back for a better, more secure angle. His pressed harder, kissing along, and biting her bottom lip.

Feeling the sudden heat of his tongue against her teeth, she held her hand against his chest and pulled back, smirking at his growl of discouragement.

"Calm yourself," she scoffed. "We _are_ in a church."

He gave her a dirty look. " _So_?"

A squeal emitted from her throat as one of his hands moved to the small of her back, and pulled her over him, so much that she was hovering over his lap. She saw a glimpse of his eyes, and they seemed to have lightened, almost glowing against her skin. His nose was in her hair, and with his grip on her, she knew that wouldn't get away, at least not without falling on the floor first.

He kissed her again, soft like before, but his lips grew too hungry. He kisses were warmer, more needing the longer they touched. He pushed her hair away, and ventured down her jawline, ignoring the sound she made, which sounded like she was trying to tell him something.

He sucked and nipped down the side of her neck. His lips curled smugly as he heard her gasp, and felt her fingers tangle into his hair. He wished he could smell what shampoo she used, or her lotion, or if she even used any at all. All that was there was that horrifying burning sensation in his lungs, the sourness. It was like it was trying to remind him. Maybe to remind him to stop, reminding him that the smell was evil, that she was bad for him.

Yet smelling it had made him care even less about that stuff.

There was ease for him, and distant need for something sacred, but for her the pain in her head returned and he pulled away from her when he heard her gasp in discomfort.

Haruhi cupped his cheek to meet his gaze. Their eyes, a smoky, lustering green, and a coruscate grey, met with a strange fuse. It was shocking, and left them paralyzed.

Hikaru felt her eyes pierce him, as if they had a intimate power to control his nerves. This time, Haruhi was the one to break eye contact, as she grasped his face in both her hands to kiss him. Now there was nothing but an incredible need just to touch each other, to be in the close presence of them.

He must've had the same effect on her, as his tongue slipped past her lips, with no effort. Her mouth was warm, and just as inviting as he was intruding. The cut on his arm stung, but it was overshadowed by the exciting thrill of everything else.

He never needed someone this badly before. The sweet taste of her lips was far more comforting than the unpleasant aroma. It was coffee. A faint hint of coffee creamer. He melted as her tongue curled around his. He pulled her back until they were resting on the thin arm of the bench.

It was too perfect, and so-...

His heart stopped. His whole body froze.

 _Oh god._

He tasted blood.

 _Blood_

 _Blood_

 _Blood_

His own anxiety made his heart start pounding. It sent his veins pulsing. The harder his heart beat, the more he could feel the virus spreading. If it had a voice, he was sure it would tell him to keep going. But that had sent common sense to his brain as he broke apart from Haruhi with a gasp.

His heartbeat was so violent she could feel it through his shirt. Haruhi lent back, but he refused to look at her.

"Hika," her finger traced along his temple, stopping at his pulse point. "Hikaru, calm down. You're okay."

Her calmness made it worse. He squirmed beneath her, but not quite being able to get away. Suddenly breathing away enough to keep up, soon he panting, all but one thought lost again.

"Hikaru, stop," her voice was desperate, as was her tight hold on his wrist. "You'll make it worse. Stop moving if it hurts."

"No, I can't," he choked, pushing her shoulder. "Get off. _I can't_."

Haruhi shoved his hand away, grasping his cheeks, forcing him to look at her. "It's okay, I promise. It's okay, just calm down."

The bitterness her blood had left in his mouth was something he never wanted. Behind his clamped lips he felt a sharpness against his tongue.

 _Please don't._

 _I like her. Don't make me._

His realization of the situation burned his eyes with tears. He watched the sad look in her eyes and tried to turn away, but she wouldn't let him go.

"It's okay," she repeated, coming closer, bringing her arms around his neck. His dirty, uruly locks tickled her ear.

She held him in place, with his face laying against her neck. Her soft pale, beautiful neck.

He was fidgeting. "Haruhi." He gasped.

"Shhh, it's okay, Hika."

He tried to shift away, in a last movement of effort to get away, but he got nowhere. His heart was nearly bursting with need. He closed his eyes, as his tears were almost blinding and laid against her shoulder, breathing.

 _So much._

That burning; it smelt nice.

 _Just a little._

 _It's too much._

His arms came around her, holding her in a crushing embrace, but she didn't say anything. She must've thought he was in pain, as she was stroking hair, whispering things into his ear. He didn't hear her. He couldn't. All he could hear was the sound of her heart, her blood flowing in _her_ veins.

And that was it.

He couldn't hide them anymore. He opened his mouth, resting the inside of his lips against her. He tried. He tried so hard, but it wouldn't let him try harder. His consciousness left him for a vice force, the one he had been ignoring. - With a pop, his teeth sunk into her neck.

It came out of nowhere for her. There was a small, but sharp pain and she whimpered. Her nails dug into the hood of his jacket. There was something warm slowly trickling down her skin. She thought it might be from the rain, until her eyes panned away from Hikaru's hair, and looked at her chest, where she saw the black substance of her blood rolling until it soaked into the collar of her shirt.

She bit her cheek, trying not cry out, even if frightened tears welded under her eyelids.

It was even more alarming when the presence of fangs left her body and Hikaru raised his head. She was trembling, too shocked to move, but her eyes moved to his when he sat back, letting out a large sigh.

She opened her mouth, but all that came out was a sharp gasp as she saw a smudge of blood, her blood, on his lip. Her hand took no time in flying to her neck, covering where his mouth had been.

Her eyes thinned. "Wha..."

She pulled her hand back, and the blood smeared on her fingers. "What did you..."

Her words trailed off, but Hikaru's arms came around her again, carefully but secure, and pulled her head to his chest. He trembled in fragile breathes.

"I'm sorry, Haruhi," he whispered, scared of his own voice. "I'm sorry. It was an accident."

Her ear was against his jacket, and she relaxed into his arms, hearing his calming heartbeat, but frowned as she heard him quietly crying into her hair.

"Hey," she finally found her voice. "I said it was okay..."

He holds her tighter, because he knew it wasn't okay at all. She won't understand.

Hikaru inhaled, ready to apologize again, when he was cut off by a loud rumble of thunder. It shook the windows, and nearly drowned out Haruhi's scared whine. His fingers smoothed her hair, and he let her hide her face in his jacket.

Even if his shirt felt nice, she didn't like it. She was cold, it was raining, and now she was sore. Her veins felt strange, and there was a sensation in her stomach, as if she might get sick. And all this was because she cared too much about him.

"I don't like this," Haruhi admitted, breathing against his collarbone. She felt so unnaturally tired all of a sudden. "Next time just tell me... Don't run away again."

Hikaru swallowed. He didn't want to move his arms, so he let his tears dry into his cheeks. "You're stuck with me."

She smirked. "Good."

He gave an airy chuckle. "You think that now."

Her smirk slowly faded. "...I feel weird."

He laid his lips against her temple."...Sleep it off."

Haruhi wiggled awkwardly in his arms, but found it to hard to argue with him.

* * *

It was early morning, barely six-thirty. The rain had long but ended hours ago and the reminds of the nasty storm were piles of debris and ugly brown mud puddles.

The doors of the church opened with a long sqeak. There were clinks of a old man pulling a large bucket full of cleaning supplies. He looked around with his broom in hand and scratched his soft white mustache.

His wrinkled forehead furrowed as he looked upon two people, curled up on one of the benches. When he looked closer, he saw that they were asleep. Their hands loosely entangled.

The old man cleared his throat, but they didn't move. He lifted up what was in his hand, and poked them with his broom handle. They didn't make a sound.

He shrugged, turned his broom back around, and began to sweep.


	30. Chapter 30

**Hearts Bound**

* * *

Between the branches of the tall, thick trees, the sun peaked through the leaves, shining on the quaint little church.

Inside, the light shined on the stained glass windows, lighting the room full of bright, colors, blaring right into the faces of the two people curled up on one of the benches.

Hikaru tried blinking away the sunlight, that had already been shining on them for hours, and tilted his face, brushing against a head full of hair. It was musky, a faint hint of lemons. It was an all too familiar scent, but now it was almost sweet.

He finally opened his eyes, and clenched his fingers to wake them up, but they just tightened around another set of fingers. He looked down and his other hand traced along Haruhi's back over her shirt, as she laid on top of him, deep in sleep.

His eyes tilted back up to the ceiling, watching the old paint sparkle from the moister of the rain. His body was tried. There was an overwhelming feeling of exhaustion in his bones. He felt so tired, but he knew he had probably been asleep for hours.

With the little strength in his arms that he had, he shifted his weight and strung her hair around his hand, grazing the smooth skin of her neck. And there it was, a rough patch, purple and scared indentations that didn't make sense against his fingertips. It was her mark.

His own neck was tender, but he didn't need to look to know that he had his own, burned into his flesh from the inside.

His heart clenched tightly in his chest, it nearly suffocating. A soft groan came from her, and his arms snaked around her shoulders, holding her close. He wondered if she was in pain as he was, but he was afraid to ask.

He bit her, wasn't this pain supposed to go away?

Suddenly, Haruhi wiggled in his arms, rubbing her face in his jacket, muttering gibberish. She let out a heavy breath, then settled back down, still asleep.

As he touched the mark, a great big, gut wrenching bubble of guilt tore through the pit of his stomach, he knew he wouldn't be going back to sleep any time soon.

* * *

 _My life is beautiful because of you my love my lady love. You entered into my life as a candlelight in the dark._  
 _You showed me the meaning of love not just with your words but with your everything._  
 _I know your shy nature doesn't let you open up to me; but your eyes speak up the love you have for me._

 _Love you a lot._

 _Your Darling_ ~

Mayuki's eye twitched. The paper of the love note crinkled under her stiff fingers. After reading it another time, it crumbled as she tightened her hand, and her knuckles rapped against the door to her husband's room.

When there was no answer, her face curled in a dirty scowl and she knocked again.

Normally, things like this wouldn't bother her.

Her eyes darted to the ticket to a Kabuki play that was in her other hand.

But this time it was a matter of principles.

With a deep breath, her fist was about to hit the door before it disappeared from her reach. She looked up, and up and her eyes met with wide auburn ones, accompanied with a thick wild head of disarranged hair.

Kaoru grinned. "May."

Her frown didn't falter. "What's this for?"

"...Huh?"

He was so happy that she was knocking on his door so early in the morning by herself, that he didn't notice the paper she held against his chest.

"Why?" he looked down, "What is it?"

"Does it go with the flowers, too?"

"Flowers?" he blinked. His hand inched carefully to the paper she held and hesitantly began to un-crumble it. He eyed her cautiously just to make sure he wasn't doing anything she wouldn't like. "Do you mean the flowers you gave to me the other day?"

Somehow she managed to glare at him colder. "What?"

"I mean... the ones you brought into my room yesterday. They had your name on it." He said, his eyes darting down the piece of paper.

"I never brought anything into your room."

Kaoru bit his lip, and she somehow left his attention completely. The words on the note confused him, and made the already present knot in his stomach twist uncomfortably. And that pang of jealousy earlier returned, heating the blood under his skin.

He already knew about the person she had been seeing, why should this bother him, too?

"Where did you get this?" he muttered.

She noticed the sour look in his eyes but tried to pretend she doesn't care. "It was stuck to my bathroom mirror."

"It wasn't there last night." She added.

He looked down at it again. His short finger nails had ruined and pierced the paper from suppressed emotions.

He read the note again in silence. He read it over again, studying the finely written words, and the gashes of ink in odd places, and half drawn doodles on the edge of the paper. The cheesy words, overly charming, just as a prince would write. The vague outline of a bear's face. A bear's... face. A princely character and a bear-.

What on earth- who would...

He twitched.

Mayuki looked up from the floor, flinching at the slow eerie shredding of the love note. She watched as he ripped it in half, than into fourths, then crumbled the mess into a ugly ball.

He looked down at his hand where the Kabuki play's ticket laid. He cursed, trapping it into his fist.

"Tamaki!"

Suddenly, there was a crash coming from the room behind him, then a faint squeak and more stuff falling to the floor. Kaoru turned around in alarm, and _lo and behold,_ his nose nearly came in contact with someone's chin.

Tamaki gasped, then scrambled away from him through the thin pathway of his body and the doorframe. His blonde hair over his eyes in a disarrange of tangles.

"Ah! Kaoru, it's a pleasure to see you this early in the morning, and Mayuki, _g'morning_."

Mayuki stared at him, her words caught in her throat.

Kaoru was still appalled that the blonde had crawled out of his bedroom. Moments before his wife knocked on the door, he was also in that room. He was wildly freaked out that he didn't know this imbecile was in there with him.

Tamaki cleared his throat, hiding his hand in his pockets. Then, glances down at his wrist - and no, he's not wearing a watch-. "Oh look at the time! Breakfast sounds nice. It's a shame I can't stay though, busy, busy, busy-"

"What the hell were you doing in there?"

"Cursing's not good for the soul, Kaoru."

"Like I bloody care. Were you in my _closet_?"

"Occasionally, yes. But only while you were asleep." He took a step back.

He was disgusted, but he was going to try and ignore that. Kaoru dropped the bundle of the ripped note on the floor at his feet. "Is this yours?" He asked in a bitter tone.

Tamaki swallowed air. The ball unraveled enough that he saw a bit of his handwriting. "No." He said. "That's Mayuki's."

Mayuki gave him a weird look, but still didn't say anything.

Kaoru looked over towards her, watching her advert her gaze away from the man who wasn't _him_ , her cheeks flushed. He glared. Usually he would hide his emptions behind ones that were much more positive. Unlike his brother, he could usually control himself. He was smart. He was-... tired, frustrated, and had a grudge over this guy and _he_ was an itch he couldn't scratch.

"You wrote my wife a love letter?"

"Wait, what?"

"And invited her out on a date?"

"Huh?"

Mayuki rolled her eyes.

Tamaki looked over his shoulder, feeling incredibly tiny on the other side of Kaoru's face. His brown eyes looked as gold as they were intimidating. He barely found it in himself to breathe.

Because, well... _drat_ , he was found out before his master plan could reach it's climax.

"Well this took an unexpected turn. There's a bit of a misunderstanding here..."

Kaoru kicked the crumbled ball when he stepped closer. "There better be."

Where was Kyouya when he needed him?

Tamaki chuckled sheepishly, rubbing his neck as he made it a point to step well out of his reach. "I can explain. About the closet thing, I was only-"

"You think this is funny?"

"No! No, of course not. I was only-"

As Kaoru breathed, he could imagine steam coming out his ears. "And were you hiding in her closet too? You had to hide somewhere while you were planting your _dirt_."

"What? She is a _lady_! I would never-"

"How'd you get this," he gestured to the paper ball, "in there then?"

He gasped, now offended. "I asked a maid of course. What do you think I am? I'm not a pervert."

"I thought you left yesterday with, Haruhi," He growled. "Instead you stayed here even after I told you to leave. And for what? To mock me? Instead you stay here and flaunt yourself and swoon my maids into helping you make everything worse."

His words had sucked all the air from his cheeks, and lungs, until he stood there, with his finger raised, absolutely speechless.

"Well, I saw that you and..." tightened his hand in a fist. "I was just trying to..."

"I know what you're doing. You're _not_ helping." He said. His tone like ice. "I don't want your help."

I, not we. Them. But I, as in just him. _He_ didn't want his help.

Then, he shoved him, until his back was almost to the wall. He pushed him until he was satisfied with the distance between him and her.

"Now _get out_." He hissed. "I don't want to have to tell you again."

Even Mayuki stepped back as he walked away. Her teeth bit into her cheeks until he left the hall and couldn't hear his footsteps anymore. She turned her attention to Tamaki, who was still standing in place, shell-shocked.

"You just offended him," she said, "He doesn't really care."

Tamaki opened his mouth, ready to beg her to tell him what this was all about why and he just got yelled at, even if he had completely innocent intentions, but she was already walking away from him.

But it was fine. He could fix this. He just had to find what was wrong, pluck the problem at the core. Everything would be fine. Yeah. Totally fine.

He reached up to fix his hair, then, with a deep breath, one bursting with determination, he stuck out his chest and turned the opposite direction from which Kaoru took.

The prince would save the day.

* * *

"Ow."

Haruhi bit her lip. "Sorry. But if you had let me look at it earlier it wouldn't be this bad."

Hikaru flinched, wanting to pull his arm away, but he didn't. The look on her face haunted him behind his eyes from when she told him to hold still.

When they had both woken up that day, it had been from someone prodding them with some blunt object, telling them to get up, and that they couldn't stay there all afternoon; If that's what they planned to do.

Dirty, tired and sore, they hiked their way back to the pension, barely saying a word to each other. Or rather, Haruhi would speak, and Hikaru would occasionally make a gesture to show that he was listening. He didn't trust his voice to say anything to her.

Once back, Haruhi asked Misuzu if she could borrow his first-aid kit and they both marched up the stairs, with him complaining to her, saying he was fine and didn't need all that stuff.

Even with the mess the bedroom was, she wouldn't think twice about anything else other than the gash on his arm. She blindly stepped over the broken mirror and they both sat on the bed, (after they had put it back together), as she insisted on patching up his wound.

He hissed, jerking his arm back. "You don't have to attack it."

Haruhi pulled back her hand, after dabbing antibiotics on his skin. "I barely even touched it that time. This isn't doing any good anyway. You need stitches."

"No I don't. I'm fine."

"It looks like it hurts-"

"Because you keep touching it."

She reached out for the forth time and grabbed his hand, pulling his arm back over her lap. Even if his mouth protested and whined, he still let her do it, and didn't try to run away from her. Which was strange considering the fight he put up yesterday. When he fell silent again, and averted his gaze, she grabbed the bottle of peroxide.

Her voice grows quiet as she drabbed the peroxide-soaked cotton ball on his skin. "Why did you do this?" she remembered blood everywhere. "Do you really not like me?"

"It's not about that," he argued, wincing as she touched a tender area.

"Was it on accident?"

"No."

She sighed sadly, but her brow was knitted with frustration. "Why would you do it on _purpose_? What would you have done if I hadn't have shown up?"

 _It's none of your business._

"I..." he glared at the shattered glass still on the floor. "I don't know."

He really didn't know, but he couldn't lie to her. He couldn't stomach it. There was an immense bubble of guilt floating over his head, and no matter what, he couldn't say no. Everything that had been brewing just under his skin for year, could easily come bursting out if she said the right thing, or looked at him the right way.

He couldn't keep anything in hen she looked at him with that genuinely concerned look in her eyes. She just had to look at him and he'd melt into a puddle of stirred up emotions.

It was awful. He hated it. He felt like a puppet. She had complete control of him now, and could easily make him do whatever she wanted with a pull of a string.

He hated it but, there was something he liked too.

And he hated that he didn't know what that was.

It's not her business right?

 _You made it her business now._

He looked up, but she didn't greet his gaze. Her attention was on the bandage she began to wrap delicately around his forearm. Kneading his fingers of his other hand into the blanket, he looked back down.

 _She doesn't look mad..._

 _Because she doesn't understand._

"Haruhi."

 _Don't do it._

The softness in his tone made her look up. "Look, I'm trying, but it's deep and I don't want to bandage to stick."

He ignored that. "...I need you to know something."

Haruhi stopped, then after a moment she continued to wrap the bandage around the worst part of the cut. "What?"

Hikaru opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He didn't think he'd ever have to say these words, so they were jumbled in his mind, hanging on the tip of his tongue. The whole topic was dropped as Haruhi looked back down at his arm.

The words he wanted to say refused to make sense. He parted his lips, then bit his tongue. He made a sound, but he turned it into a drawn out sigh. Then, as a last attempt, he looked at her and was about to speak, when the bandage tightened and anything he was about to say was replaced with a painful gasp.

After securing it so it wouldn't unravel Haruhi finally gave him control of his arm. She watched him bring it to his chest and fiddle with it before she turned to put the care-kit back together.

Her vision blurred and she blinked it away, then rubbed her fingers into the bridge of her nose. She had felt strange since that morning, but it wasn't odd enough to talk about it. She was normally a morning person, and they had gone to sleep relatively early the night before, but when she woke up, she just felt a whole new level of groggy.

As soon as she realized the pain in her head, she noticed her numb calves, and the ache in her shoulders. She actually felt sick, but it wasn't like before. Now it was vaguely different. Her heart felt funny, especially when she looked at him.

She knew she liked him, but how do you know when you love someone?

Why was she considering love? There was no way. It was just, Hikaru. He always made her feel strange.

It was adoration. Complete, fuzzy, bubbling adoration. Love is too sudden. But should adoration make you feel this nauseous?

"Hey," she heard a noise and looked at his arm. "It won't get better if you keep picking at it."

He stopped touching it. "Where did you get this? It's scratchy."

She laughed. "It's your fault. Just don't think about it."

Hikaru grumbled, kneading the rough bandage. "You couldn't have asked for something softer?"

"No. My options were limited."

"Well it's distracting."

" _Well_ you don't have to hurt yourself just because you're mad." Haruhi reached for his arm again, pushing her fingers between the wrap and his irritated skin. "It's Saturday so the shops are open. Later we can pick up some lotion."

He was taken aback by that, and slowly pulled his arm away. "Why?"

"You just said it was itchy."

"But..." he paused to think about it, then after a few expression, he glared, "why would want to do that?"

She wasn't acting right. This wasn't supposed to happen. She was under the influence of the virus, why was she taking care of him? This isn't right. Why wasn't she furious? Why was she even sitting next to him?

"Why not?" she replied. "We have to go anyway. We have to find a replacement for that mirror you broke."

He stared at her bow that was knitted in thought . "Why aren't you mad at me?"

"It's just a mirror...," She looked around the room with a shrug, "but... I don't want you to do this again. If I hadn't have come chasing after you, you could have really gotten hurt."

He scoffed. "I can take care of myself."

She just smiled, shaking her head. "No you can't."

He quickly caught her knowing gaze and stubbornly turned away, flustered.

"Why did you do it anyway?"

"...Cause I felt like it." He answered.

"Well don't feel that way again," she said softly, laying her fingertips against his tensed fist. "I don't like it."

When he turned, he didn't expect her eyes to be so close. When he stared into them, getting almost lost in a brown abyss. His heart was pounding, felling her soft warm hand cup around the back of his, but this time it didn't hurt. Nothing hurt now. He felt fantastic.

He felt so light, there wasn't a painful twist in his stomach, it didn't hurt when he breathed deeply. It just felt refreshing; everything did.

And staring at Haruhi for so long, he was beginning to notice how pretty she was in the afternoon light.

He was reluctantly pulled back to where time was still ticking when she cleared her throat. He blinked, and looked utterly lost, as if he had just forgotten where he was.

Haruhi pulled her hand away. "We should start cleaning this place up. We can't leave it like this."

Before she could get far from him, he grabbed her wrist, stopping her from moving from her spot beside him. She shivered at his touch, tracing her eyes along his arm, his neck, his face, until she was looking at his eyes, darkened with emotion.

"You're really... not mad about last night?" he asked again.

"No." While she gave him the same answer. "I'm not mad.

He released her hand and grasped her cheeks. She inhaled sharply, as she was pulled forward into his lap. Her hand rested against his leg as his mouth captured hers in a sweet, sudden kiss. His tongue already darting across her bottom lip.

He didn't feel bad about it now. Now it was okay. She was his now, he could do whatever he wanted. Be that he kiss her, touch her, hold her. He could now _have_ what he wanted, instead of stealing it when his common-sense wasn't paying attention. And knowing that weight on his shoulders was gone, he felt amazing. And her lips tasted even sweeter when she started kissing him back.

His hand slipped behind her head and Haruhi yelped between their lips while he brought her backwards against the shambolic pile of pillows. Their noses bashed together as she fall, pressed against his chest. She held his face, kissing along the rim of his lips, and down his jawline.

In this position he wasn't getting what he wanted. She was only in charge a few moments longer before he wrapped his arms around her back and flipped her over, she pulled back and gasped the second her head hit the mattress, feeling him settle between her legs.

"Hang on a sec'," she breathed, holding her hand to his shoulder. "I thought we were gonna clean?"

Hikaru raised his head with a disgruntle growl hiding in his throat. "I never said I was going help."

She couldn't protest, or push him off, he was already fumbling to unbutton her shirt. He would have gotten it off already had his hands not gotten distracted with her hair. She wanted to get up and clean the bathroom, before things would stain for life, but the longer she laid there, with his lips violating every inch of her neck, she was losing interest in everything but him.

He would always run away from her, that, in those rare moments that he would want her close, she would let him do whatever he wanted. Maybe it was a bad way to disciple him, but nothing really felt as nice as this did.

She tilted her face as his teeth grazed across her earlobe and tried not to say anything as his fingers found her bare skin beneath the hem of her shirt.

There was a nagging voice in the back of her mind that she was trying to ignore. It tried to bring her back to her senses, to explain something obvious, and it finally pushed a thought forward, one that left her feeling uncomfortable in Hikaru's arms.

This wasn't always going to feel like this.

This wasn't going to exist at all.

" _Wait_."

He stopped what he was doing and gave her an impatient scowl. " _What_?"

She fidgeted, turning her face away from his swollen lips. "We can't do this anymore."

His eyebrows creased and he brushed away the loose collar of her shirt. "Don't try to ruin the moment cause you're my lawyer."

"That's not the problem," she grabbed his hand, using her other to pull her shirt back together. "This feels wrong. We can't keep messing around like this. You're _sick_ , you shouldn't even be with anyone and-"

"You're sick, too," he grumbled, slipping his hand from hers, trying to avert her attention by kissing down her chin. "You don't remember last night?" he kissed her again, "I don't know what you did but you're just like me now. We can do whatever we want, we can't be with anyone else different anyway."

"I'm fine compared to you," she listened to another sigh of displeasure as she wiggled out of his lips reach. "When I went to your house Kaoru told me you're dying. I only came after you so I knew you weren't doing anything stupid."

Hikaru groaned, rolling his eyes as he sat back on his knees. "Weren't you the one who said you were sick? I gave something to you, remember?"

"Well how else am I supposed to explain it? Maybe I caught a cold cause I don't feel anything _now_ ," she made it a priority to re-button her shirt as she crawled away from him. "I don't want to keep doing this if all I am to you is just a thing you have laying around and use to ease your frustration. It happens every time. You get like this and afterwards you flip out."

"Flip out? Then you should've stopped chasing me around when you had the chance. I didn't push you away for no reason but you didn't _get_ that. I tried to tell you not to get involved with us so don't try to turn it on me. We're _both_ stuck like this."

"I'm not talking about any of that," she her heart did a strange jump in her chest, and her voice hitched. "I'm talking about you. I don't want to do any of this with you anymore. I don't want to keep pretending it's not happening, you're still sick and I can't do anything about it."

"Why does that bother you so much?" he snapped. "You don't understand and you were fine before when you didn't know about it. You knew I was sick yet you still came here to try and drag me back home. You could've just stayed out of it. And you were fine when we were doing this last night. Is it different now because of what I did?"

She wasn't sure, but it sounded like he was _trying_ to make her mad on purpose.

"I don't want to do this with you anymore because you're sick," she admitted, almost choking on her words. "I don't want to keep getting closer to you because you'll _die_ and I don't know how I'll be able to get over you, and I can't be good for you to get so worked up, so... I don't want to do this anymore."

Hikaru was set to reply with a scornful comment, but forced it down when he looked up to her glassy eyes. When it came to sensitive topics about him she was always so quick to cry, and he knew his pride wasn't big enough to ignore it. If it was going to stay this way, it was going to end up being a really unusual relationship.

He turned away from her immediately, feeling crushed by the silence between them.

He scratched at the bandage on his arm, and spoke after he felt her weight leave the bed. "Does this mean I have to tell you I'm not dying anymore?"

Her feet weren't even planted to the floor properly yet when she turned to him, wide-eyed. "You're _what_?"

"I'm fine now," he avoided her gaze. "So you don't have to worry about that stuff. I'm not sick anymore."

"You're not _sick_?" she said a bit louder than she meant to. " _Why_? You were yesterday. I _saw_ you."

Hikaru heisted, trying to look too busy to look at her. He could practically see the heat of her stare. "It went away after last night." He stood up from the bed. "Uh, how do you clean this stuff up? broom right? Yeah."

" _Sit down_ ," Haruhi hissed.

He sat back down.

"If you fucking lied about being sick this whole damn time, I swear-"

"I didn't!" He exclaimed, but hurriedly stopped himself. "I... _was_ , but then you came after me and screwed it all up. I _was_ dying, and it's what I wanted, but now I'm not, thanks to _you_."

Her face was knitted to tightly in a frown that his vague explanation made no difference. " _What_?"

 _Oh yes, please accept my most humble apology that you're not dying anymore._

His face was flushed as he threw his finger towards her hair. "It's because of that."

She looked to were his finger was pointing to, but her eyes fell on her shoulder. "Because of what?"

"That mark."

She didn't see anything wrong. "There's nothing there."

"That," he stood back up, thrusting her hair away from her neck. "It's right... there, or..." He glared at her neck, only seeing her soft pale skin. There was no scars or purple indentation of the mark. He moved her hair away from the other side of her neck. "Right _there_."

He froze, just glowering at her neck. There was nothing, not a thing had blemished her skin. "It's... not there."

Haruhi pulled her hair back stubbornly, taking a step back. "What're you talking about?"

"It's not there," he repeated, his voice panicking. "It's gone. It was there this morning."

"I don't know what you're talking about. And you're sure you're not still dying?"

"It was right there!" He grabbed her wrist and brought her back into his reach, where his fingers felt around the place he knew he had bitten her, but there was no trace that he had. "But, I..."

It's not supposed to disappear. It was permanent. He knew he had bitten her. It was the only think he could think about since, and that morning when he first woke, he saw it.

His hand slowly fell away from her. He brought his fingers to his own neck, and there he felt his own mark. Rough and scarred into his skin. Why wasn't hers?

This time he stepped away, glaring at the floor, entangled in his thoughts. An image of last night appeared behind his vision. It was raining, and her eyes glowed a crisp silver.

He looked back up, moving further away. "I don't get it."

"Hikaru-"

"No. Don't touch me. You're _weird_."

" _I'm_ weird?" Haruhi raised her brow. "I haven't done anything. Why aren't you sick anymore?"

"That's not important! There's something _wrong_ with you."

She rolled her eyes. "That makes both of us."

He continued to glare at her, not relieving her of his strange looks as she moved away to the other side of the room. She searched the tiny closet for a broom and dust pan, but even after she found them, and began cleaning up the glass, he still held a suspicious stare.

"Ya gonna keep giving me that look or are you gonna pick this stuff up?"

He forced himself out of his mope, but even while they were cleaning he still looked at her neck. Nothing else seemed weird about her, but then again, he hadn't actually been with her during a full moon yet.

He turned to the top of her head, imagining an outline of wolf ears.

After a moment he gave up on that idea and started making his bed.

 _Nah,_ _a raccoon dog maybe, but not a werewolf._

* * *

 _This chapter is super late, and turned out to be longer than I expected A well, I hope you like it anyway. Have we progressed yet? Hikaru's starting to be his dorky self now. Yay_

 _This is off the subject a bit, so you can skip this, but I've been receiving some reviews from an anonymous reader. He calls himself, dragonballwarbud. He also has been sending me feedback from Deviantart. He has sent me very inappropriate messages and death threats, trying to get me to stop writing, so that's why I haven't really felt comfortable about writing recently. But hopefully it's all good now!_

 _Dear: dragonballwarbud, I know you read almost all my chapters I write, so if you see this, know that sempai has noticed you. Now please go away._

 _But anyways, thank you all for reading! I hope I can get the next chapter up soon. I'm excited about the rest of the story. Maybe Hikau can pull his head out of his bottom and I can write more fluff. I like fluff. ~_

 _-Kc495_


	31. Chapter 31

**Unveiled**

* * *

"At least I can go back to work now."

Huni's eyes turned to his friend and current roommate, as he heard a click from the land phone. "Hm? Was that Haru-chan? There was a really bad storm last night, is she okay?"

"She sounded fine," Kyouya took off his glasses to wipe the lenses, not doing a very good job at hiding the frustration in his sigh. "She's back with Hikaru and said that she's going to stay over another night before they head home, and that we can go ahead and leave without her."

"They're so in love," The blonde cooed, flopping down on his bed. "I wonder if they know that?"

"Are we talking about the same Hikaru and Haruhi that we once went to school with?"

"I think so..."

"Then probably not."

Kyouya slipped his glasses back on and stood up with a crack. "If you ask me, they won't last."

"That's mean, Kyo-chan. I think it's cute," Huni rolled his head to look at his cousin, who was propped on the window sill. "Isn't it cute, Takashi?"

There was a very solemn expression painted on Mori's face as he turned at the sound of his name. His brow did a strange wiggle of concentrated thought, and he stayed silent for a few moments, frowning at the air before his lips finally parted.

"I think Hikaru is taking advantage of Haruhi's kindness and she cares too much about his wellbeing than what he's actually like to notice how thickheaded he is and how ignorant he can be towards other people's feelings. It won't be a very stable relationship of any kind if they don't open their eyes and actually get to know each other properly. It would be a very interesting development, seeing as they're two completely different people."

Kyouya cleared his throat.

Huni's shoulder sunk as he turned away. "Oh."

"I don't see them lasting very long either."

"Are you tired, Takashi?"

"Maybe a little."

"I thought so. Maybe you should take a nap before we leave."

"Yeah."

* * *

Tamaki was certain he saw him come down this hallway. Or... maybe it was the other way? Did he cut a corner? He really should stop hiding- so _uncharming_ for married man.

He remembered the maid's words to him earlier, about not being allowed to go into a certain room, just as he had found himself in front of it. It was down the hall from any of the bedrooms he had already been given a directions to, but it was beside Hikaru's, which had been left empty since Haruhi and Kaoru came running out of there the other day.

Of course there was something in him that was telling him to stop interfering, especially from the speech he had gotten from Kaoru hours ago, but what Mayuki had said made him more curious, and eager to do something about this unfortunate, spousal dispute.

All thoughts aside, he gave one long, painfully satisfying crack to his fingers and reached for the doorknob. _Perhaps he's hiding in here..._

 _"I don't know. He doesn't know yet."_

He froze, hearing a familiar voice coming from the other side of the door. His fingers instantly retracted, as if he had touched fire.

 _"No. I don't want him to. He doesn't need to know everything. He wouldn't understand."_

It was definitely Mayuki's voice. He gasped and watches the door handle wiggle, in horror. He looked down at the shadow under the doorframe and looked over his shoulder, looking for somewhere to hide.

Because technically, no one really knew he was still there.

The door parted open and he fled to the other side of the hall, tossing open the closest door, and slipping inside the room before he was noticed.

Tamaki breathed, laying his head against the now closed door, thinking, maybe he shouldn't be doing this, and that all this effort was being thrown towards a lost cause.

And he continued to think that, until he turned around and saw the back of the very person he was looking for. He opened his mouth wide, but was hurriedly cut off before he could get a word out.

"If you're going to prowl the halls, you should do it where people can't see you."

Kaoru kept his back turned to him, leaning against the wall near the furthest window. "And quit walking into people's bedrooms. It's creepy."

Tamaki hesitated. "...I was looking for you, that's all."

"I thought you had seen enough of me earlier."

"I wanted to _talk_ this time."

"Didn't we?"

"...There wasn't very much talking going on."

He sighed, glaring out the window. "What do you _want,_ Tamaki? Why is it, that after nine years, we're suddenly seeing so much of you?"

"Haruhi said something like that too," Tamaki muttered, kneading his fingers. "I just..." he stopped to think. "I just want to apologize."

"You keep saying things like that," Kaoru's voice lowered, tightening his fingers against his sleeve. "But you have nothing to apologize for, so you can drop it."

"It's about the Host-"

"The Host Club's been disbanded for over six years. It'd be dumb to hold a grudge over you for that long. We're not kids anymore."

Tamaki cringed. Knowing the twins in junior high, made talking to them as adults so weird. He almost wanted to stop to be able to maintain the nice memories of them, when they were much younger and less likely to be able to hurt him; not just emotionally, either.

"Besides that, I shouldn't have been so stubborn. I'll still feel guilty if I don't get it off my chest. I should have apologized to you two when it still mattered, but I guess I was just offended that after all my hard work training you guys to be perfect hosts, you guys didn't stay, and were actually worst when you left, that I didn't want you back."

Kaoru only turned to look at him, narrowing his brow in annoyance. "Even if you had apologized back then for kicking us out, we wouldn't have come back. We thought you _got_ that. We didn't _want_ to be there."

Tamaki inhaled from shock. "But... If you- you didn't want to be there you could have just said so! You didn't have to cause so much trouble. And here I thought I was being a jerk. Why didn't you just resign?"

Kaoru turned away again. "It's complicated. You wouldn't have understood and probably would've wanted an explanation."

"Well, yeah. _Most likely_."

"And we didn't want to give you one."

Tamaki frowned. He glanced down at his feet, then shifted his gaze to his fingernails. He waited to him to continue, but it was apparently that the twin probably didn't even want to talk to him anyway.

"So..." he bit his tongue, "why did you leave?"

Ignoring that question, Kaoru turned away from the view outside and stared at him. His glare was gone, and his brow eased into a more confused stare. "Why are you so worried about us now? It doesn't matter that we're not apart of that club anymore. Our families still have a secured partnership whether we're friends or not."

"This has nothing to do with that," Tamaki admitted, his voice hitching in fruitlessly suppressed desperation. "Even as much as I'd like to disagree with it, Haruhi has uh... seem to have taken a slight, barely noticeable, liking to, Hikaru and-"

"Barely noticeable? She totally has the hot's for him."

He cleared his throat. "Yes well, despite that, I couldn't help but notice that Hikaru's acts in such vulgar ways with her sometimes when I'm watching, and I can't help but think it's because of what happened back in high school."

"So... _What_?"

"I don't want to have any ill feelings between any of us anymore."

"I think you're just worried that Haruhi's not spending anymore time with you because she's too busy having inappropriate interactions with my brother, and don't support their relationship."

"There's no need to mention all that stuff, you don't even know for sure he tainted her innocence."

"I didn't say anything about her innocence..."

"Hikaru knows what I'm talking about."

"So... this is about them?"

"No!"

Kaoru shook his head, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "Look, Tamaki, if It'll get out of my hair, we forgive you. It doesn't bother me anymore that you're friends with, Haruhi. I doubt Hikaru will even let there be a relationship between them, so you don't have to worry about seeing us often anyway."

"What's that supposed to mean?" he grumbled. "Haruhi went out of her way to travel half way around Japan for your brother. Even if I don't like it, she likes him, I won't allow him to take advantage of her."

"I said it was complicated," Kaoru grouched back, "Hikaru's wouldn't do that, which is why he doesn't want to be with her. I can't help it if she's more interested in him than I thought she'd be."

Suddenly, there was a violent twist in his chest, and Tamaki had to bit his cheek to not raise his voice. "You can't play with someone's feelings. If you-"

"Settle down," Kaoru rolled his eyes, turning to the bookshelf, just to find something to avoid his eyes. "Nothing bad will happen to her. It's not like we asked for Hikaru to get sick."

"That's right..." Tamaki's voice fell dramatically. "I... forgot. I wish we knew about that back then, we wouldn't have-"

"I don't want to talk about that, it doesn't concern you." Kaoru straightened his jacket, and brushed off the dust on his pant legs, gathered from the dirty windowsill. "Your chauffer's waiting outside. I think it's time for you to go now."

"Yeah," he sighed. "I think so, too."

"And that's enough interfering with my marriage. Because I really don't need your help."

"About that..." With his hand on the knob, he looked back at him, sympathetically. "About earlier, about me and... your wife, I really wasn't trying to do anything wrong."

"Doesn't really matter whether you were or not," Kaoru mumbled, walking towards him, "You wouldn't be the first."

The moment Tamaki opened the door, he slipped passed him.

"Are you coming with me?"

"I'm just making sure you leave this time." He grabbed his ear and shoved him forward.

" _Ow_ , you don't have to pull so hard."

* * *

He knew might be in trouble, but he didn't know he'd be that in trouble.

"You don't talk to anyone in days and suddenly take off in the middle of the night without telling even me, I am your _mother_ , and I had no idea where you were. No one had any way to even call you because you didn't take your cell phone. We couldn't call the police incase you had another accident, and we can't have you going to the hospital again."

Hikaru winced. He opened his mouth, but he was cut off again.

"You can't run off and not plan to come back home while your poor brother was laying there on the couch wallowing in his marital problems waiting for his brother to come home. You didn't think we'd worry about you? I don't care if you're 15, 25, or on your way to being damn well 80 years old. Never is it okay to run off like that, especially in this family. You're really crossed the line this time, Hikaru."

Kaoru looked over at the two of them from the couch, apparently amused at the sight of his brother being reprimanded like a guilty teenager.

His face immediately lowered into a scowl however when those words finally set in. "I wasn't wallowing." He said, straightening his magazine.

"I'll get to you next," Yazuha snapped. "You knew and wouldn't tell anyone either."

Kazuha, hidden in the background with her husband with an abandoned checkers game, chuckled, and took a sip of her tea. Her husband however, looked less pleased than their daughter did, and she was the only one raising her voice.

"Nothing was going to happen anyway," Hikaru grumbled.

"And do you _know_ that?" His mother's eyes were sharp. "Using an ATM so we couldn't even see your credit card history. I bet the only reason you came home at all was because Haruhi convinced you to. If not, the last time we would've seen you would be in a body bag."

He didn't reply.

"That was your whole plan wasn't it?" Everyone's eyes were on her as she began to pace. She was trembling, physically freaking out. "I mean it wouldn't have bothered _you_ , you'd be _dead_."

Before she could say anything more, her husband laid his hands on her shoulders, he whispered something in her ear to calm her down, and didn't do anything else until she relaxed into his arms. Her expression was still fixed in a glare towards her eldest son.

Haruhi felt like an old piece of wallpaper, so blended into the background, and feeling so out-of-place during this fragile family dispute. She was sat in the chair by one of the maids and was handed a cup of tea, but she hadn't touched it, or had she said a thing since she and Hikaru arrived back at the mansion.

She hugged her arms, her fingers rubbing into her skin for another source of warmth. The day before, she felt strange, especially after a very awkward night sharing a bed with Hikaru, who refused to talk to her, but this was a special kind of strange.

Her skin was cold to the touch, but she was the only one in the room who was wearing a jacket, so she knew It was only her. Her finger nails dug into the hem of her shirt, just so her hand would stop shaking. It couldn't just be the air. Her blood was as cold as a slab of ice, her lungs ached like she was inhaling the mist straight out of a freezer.

She felt a pinch of this the day she first found Hikaru. She thought that it was just because of the rain, but now she was beginning to think that something really did cause something to transfuse through the air and made her sick. Very, very sick.

Looking across the rooms, she watched as the twin's father took his turn in talking to Hikaru, only scolding him for worrying their mother. She was well out of everyone's line of attention, and figuring that she wasn't important to the conversation, her feet dipped to the floor where she slipped them back into her sandals.

A sharp chill ran down her spine as she sat up. She inhaled air that felt like shards of glass were stabbing her chest. A shock sprung through her arms and her fingers until she couldn't feel them anymore.

"Haruhi," their grandfather spoke up, noticing her move. "I apologize for Hikaru's behavior, but we are grateful for you bringing him back. I don't know what would've happened to him while he was gone since he didn't bring his medication."

"I would've come back if I actually _wanted_ to." Hikaru growled, crossing his arms and he sunk deeper into his chair. "Not like those pills matter anymore anyway."

"Can't you appreciate that someone's concerned about you, and your wellbeing?"

"No."

"You don't have to have an attitude, because no one here is going to lie to you." Kaoru muttered, disapproval practically dripping from his lips. "We're not the only ones who care about you. Haruhi does, too."

"That's what got us into this situation in the first place. You shouldn't have told her where I went."

"I didn't tell her anything. I even told her not to go after you," Kaoru defended, then paused to think. "Well I taunted her, but I never actually told her where to go, and how to follow you. She found all that on her own."

"So it _was_ your fault."

"I did nothing wrong. You're just complaining because you didn't get your way."

"Shush now," Yazuha hissed, shooing away her husband's touch. "You two have done nothing but fight these last few months, and we're all sick of it. If you're own problems are bothering this much but you don't _bother_ to fix them, suck it up. Because I won't have it anymore."

The twins gave blaming looks to each other.

"I sincerely apologize for all this, Haruhi, I really do," she sighed, passing the brunette a sympathetic look. "One of these days you'll have to tell us why you like these two so much. Seems to me they both need to take a few of those etiquette courses to remind them there is _a lady present_. They best behavior must be to act like monkeys."

"Okay we get it. We're sorry." The twins groaned.

She ignore that. "You're more than welcome to stay for dinner, Haruhi. Hmm- scratch that, you can't leave until you have dinner. Don't worry, I'll have the cook come up with something nice."

Yazuha waited a moment for a reply, but when she didn't get one, everyone looked towards the speechless girl, to see that she looked to be in a daze.

She frowned. "Haruhi?"

Haruhi blinked, feeling a pain in her eyes. She snapped her head back at the sound of heels clicking against the floorboard. "No, sorry. I can't. I called my dad already so... I think I'm going home tonight for dinner. If I don't... he might order takeout again."

"Are you alright? You looked a little blue."

"Y-yeah." Her voice shook, as her heart palpitated. Her hand barely grasped her jacket off the arm of her chair before she stood up. It was a movement she took all too soon, as her feet felt like she stood on thousands of tiny knives, slicing through her cold, sensitive skin.

Her knees hit the floor instantly with a raw gasp. She winched, trying to hold herself up on her hands while the air turned to pounds against her back, trying to force her down.

Someone called her name, but they sounded miles away. Anything else anybody said came through her ears in slurs and were so quiet she couldn't hear them anyway. Her skin was so cold, she barely noticed the warmth of someone's arms as they came around her.

There was a familiar scent of dust, and the smell of pepper burned her lungs, but she found herself smothering herself in it, ignoring the hand on her shoulder that was trying to snap her out of it.

"Haruhi!" Hikaru called out again, but all he got in response, was her face digging deeper into his shirt.

A hand went to her cheek, but it was quickly pulled back.

"She's freezing," Yazuha said, turning to her son. "What did you do?"

That made him panic. His hands were no longer warm from touching her. "I... I don't know. The virus never did this before."

"What'd you _mean_? How does _Haruhi_ have the virus?"

He whirled his head around. "How do you _think_?"

She gasp. "Then _why_ didn't you say something was _wrong_ with her? Hikaru!"

"We're not like that! How was I supposed to know?"

Haruhi's fingers tightened around Hikaru's sleeve. Hundreds of tiny screaming voices drowned out their voices, so she couldn't reply. There was a sharp twinge somewhere in her head, but it struck something, and there was a voice, one smoother, more clearer, and it tried to pull her out of consciousness.

 _Let go._

The pain in her head grew, and as she hid her face in a fruitless attempt to make it go away. It got worse, growing on the pressure of Hikaru's embrace.

 _Come here._

She closed her eyes tighter. _I don't want to._

 _But you're mine. You have to._

 _Come._

She as caught between sides, one asking her to wake up, and the other urging her to disappear. She wasn't sure where she was being told to go, but the feeling it left in her chest convinced her that it was horrible.

Eventually, she finally slipped away, and her vision darkened with unconsciousness.

* * *

 **Haruhi, you should probably see a doctor about that...**

 **Thanks for reading! I wrote this chapter twice, so that's why it took so long to get up. I totally trashed the firs few thousands words and had to start over. Ayyway, have a lovely first day of school!** _8/31/16_


	32. Chapter 32

**Angel's Fall**

* * *

 _Haruhi._

At last, there was no aches or discomfort. It was eerie and silence, and she couldn't even see her own hand in front of her face, but maybe, it was because she wasn't even there.

 _Haruhi._

Her name was spoken. A woman's voice was like a sliver of light at the end of a dark tunnel. It was like sandpaper, scratching the inside of her head. The thousands of tiny voices that gathered made it impossible to ignore her.

 _Look at what you've done, child. Do you like this? All you had to do was stay away._

 _Stay away from what?_

Where was she? Was she dreaming?

But... she could talk.

 _They're poison. You should have stayed away._ The voice said. Her echo lingered off the walls.

 _I don't understand._ Haruhi couldn't open her mouth, she couldn't even hear herself think, but the women knew. She heard everything.

 _I know. You don't like this, do you? You're in pain._

She thought about it, but right now she couldn't feel a thing. _I can't remember._

 _You knew he was bad for you, yet you keep falling all over his feet like a dog._

She hissed, her tone drawled like a snake. Haruhi didn't know who she was, but it was frightening, and she just wanted her to leave.

 _I don't know who you're talking about._

 _I think you do, Haruhi._

There was a sound of tiny feet pattering. It was piling, slowly getting closer and closer, but it didn't have a face. She couldn't see where it was coming from. But it multiplied into more feet, growing louder the more impatient the woman seemed to be.

 _Don't you know who you're made of? Don't you know what you are?_

 _No._

 _Don't you know what he is?_

 _...I thought I did._

Haruhi's body winced, feeling something sharp strike her. She didn't know what it was, or where it came from, or what it hit, but her body shook, leaving an ache everywhere. The scattering grew louder, making the already small space seem even smaller.

It grew so loud, it shrouded over her head, and behind her. Her vision scanned downwards, looking for hundreds of crawling spiders, ready to jump out and devour her, but it was clear, smooth darkness. Nothing was even touching her.

 _He killed your mother, Haruhi._

The scratching was far louder than she was, but those words stuck out fiercely like a knife.

 _What?_

 _He's the reason why she's dead. And because of what you are, he'll do that same to you._

 _How much you care - It wont matter to him._

 _Why? Who are you talking about?_

 _He doesn't care for your feelings, he doesn't care about you. All he sees is a pretty face, and all he wants is what's inside **here**. _

Haruhi gasped. The same sharpness attacked her chest, and she felt it, something stinging, and burning like a fresh hot-iron against her flesh. Her heart throbbed, and she was pressed backwards.

She couldn't see her feet, but they stepped back, and they stepped back on small invisible creatures, but that's all she did. There was no floor to keep her stable, so she fell right through.

The woman was cackling, whispering silently that she 'told her so', and that she 'didn't deserve the family name'. Haruhi tried to reach out for her, to ask for help, as the creatures tingled her skin, and a chill coaxed her body almost instantly, but no one helped her, and she kept falling.

And she didn't stop, until those creatures, and the blinding freeze, swallowed her whole.

* * *

"You know... When you called me over to help someone who isn't a part of your family, I thought I might see something normal for a change." Ryo admitted, out loud.

Hikaru looked up from his hands, not bothering to look the doctor in the face. "Even if she isn't, she has the virus."

"Even so, I haven't seen anything like this," his upper lip arched. "Your family is prone to excessively high fevers, while she... well, her blood pressure's normal, but it's too cold. Water freezes to ice at this temperature and it's been over an hour and she isn't warming up. If it's from the virus, then symptoms usually are caused by something, like over exerting yourself."

Hikaru frowned. "It's not that cold in here."

"I don't think it's caused from the outside. After awhile her skin warmed up, but inside it's still freezing. It's like she's been swimming in the Atlantic ocean. At this rate, theoretically, she should have froze to death already."

Kaoru looked down at his brother, then towards Haruhi who was placed on the bed, bundled up under as many blankets as it took to get her to stop shivering. He watched the grimace on her face, all twisted up in uncomfortable, sleep induced thoughts. Sweat was starting to build along her hairline, but he knew inside, she was cold, as her cheeks were still trembling.

He knew everyone had the same side effects when influenced by the virus, but he had never seen anyone in his family act this way. If anyone would be overexerting themselves and making themselves sick, it would be his brother and his wife, and they've never collapsed from internal freezing. Then again, when would his wife ever tell him anything?

He looked up, a crease of concentration tugging on his brow. "...Can you help her?"

"Well I _thought_ I could, but you guys made her into a freak."

"She's not a freak." Hikaru snapped. "Something's wrong with her, so fix it."

"I won't do anything being bossed around with _that_ attitude," Ryo scolded, laying his fingers against Haruhi's free arm, trying to be gentle with the needle pressed against her skin. "Cut me some slack, I put up with a lot of strange crap that doesn't make sense. Let me figure this out."

Kaoru blinked, taken aback by his brother's tone. But after a moment of staring at his brother's hand, that was still wrapped around Haruhi's from the last time he was asked to check her temperature, he smirked.

"Maybe it'll pass." He suggested. "We just have to wait until she wakes up, to give her something to warm her up, like coffee. She might be sensitive to the weather. It's October so it's getting pretty cold."

Ryo stood up, suddenly very annoyed at whatever was laying between his fingers. "I doubt it's from sensitivity to the weather. There's condensation on the syringe, and why is her blood _black?_ Does this sort of thing happen to people when their bodies can't physically handle the virus?"

"That's not what it is," Hikaru tried to argue. "She was like that before. It's always been that way. But even if there was something wrong with her, the virus would have healed it. That's what it does."

Despite his deep, confident tone, his gut was being wringed inside his stomach. A feeling of uncomfortable, disgusting guilt, boiled in his chest, making him sick. If it was the virus, her getting sick would be all his fault. Especially if her body was naturally too weak to harbor the violence of the infection.

But why would that be? No one in the history of their family was ever too weak to handle it. It was a healing factor as well as the body's personal cyanide.

He looked down at her, watching her chest rise under the blanket with every shaky breath she managed to breathe. Finally, he noticed his twin's eyes on him, and reluctantly pulled his hand away from her. It left his fingers feeling empty and cold, and there was a tingle in his palm as her own hand curled into a loose fist.

Her brows tensed as she frowned in her sleep.

He swiped his thumb over her forehead tenderly, as if to ease it away.

She looked so soft a tiny. Her skin had faded so pale she looked lifeless. Kaoru and the doctor were speaking, but their words were just whispers to him while his mind was filled with other things.

 _Maybe things will be different this time?_ he thought.

But like always, the hidden, bitter side of him brought fourth the cold, painful reality of the situation. That now that they were this far, there was no going back, and if they screwed up, they would just be another bad example of why Hitachiin's can't fall in love.

So much for her support, and her caring about his wellbeing.

She tried so hard to gain his trust, and compassion, and this is what she gets in return.

And thus, another painfully true fact:

 _She doesn't deserve this, and I don't deserve her._

"Her mother died from an illness," he caught his brother saying, something he might have mentioned before. "Do you think... it might be genetic, and Haruhi has it too?"

Hikaru looked at him firmly. "It would have over powered any illness she would have had. If she's sick it's from the virus."

"Her body must have reacted to it wrong. I don't care what it is, but she needs to see a specialist." The chair Ryo was sitting in scraped, and nearly fell to the floor as he stood with a furious jerk. "I know why none of you want to take yourselves to the hospital, but no one knows what's wrong with her, and she isn't even apart of your family, so I don't see the reason to keep her from getting help."

Hikaru tossed that idea aside when he turned his gaze away. "Whatever's wrong, the virus will fix it. It just takes time."

"Whatever the hell the virus is doing, it's not helping her. If she stays this way, she'll die," he exclaimed, throwing his hand towards Haruhi. "If you won't do anything about it, you'll be responsible for what happens. She's not responsive, so she can't tell me want she wants."

"I don't know what to do." It'd take a deaf man to not be able to hear the worry Hikaru was trying to hide with a grumble. "I'm not responsible for anything that has to do with her. It's just-"

"Then I'll call an ambulance myself."

"You can't do that. She can't go to the hospital."

Kaoru stood in the corner with his arms over his chest. He opened his mouth, but his throat wouldn't let go of the words he tried to say. Were they responsible for her? If she was infected by the virus, then partly, yes, but they still didn't have the right to say what was best for her. It was easier for him, Mayuki never wanted to go to the hospital. Her whole point was to hurt herself and stay that way.

He looked at Haruhi again. But he wasn't totally sure she knew what exactly she was apart of now.

"Then call her family, whatever relative she has, I don't care. They'll decide what to do." Ryo declared. "If it isn't your business then you shouldn't care, right?"

Hikaru felt deflated. His chest swelled up with words he created, but just couldn't speak. "Well, that's not-"

"What else is there to argue?" the doctor might as well have been right in his face. "I was called here, and you asked for help. I gave you options, but you're ignoring them. What's the point? If I don't have anything else to do here I'm leaving. I'll have paramedics called and they'll take her off your hands."

He stood up from the side of the bed. "No. We can't do that," their faces were a mere few inches apart as he turned around. He cheeks were burning red from frustration. "If we could go to the hospital we wouldn't have you. We don't know what's wrong with her, if we take her, she might get worse. None of us have been exposed to any medications they have, they might... aggravate the virus."

Ryo stared into Hikaru's eyes that had darkened. He saw anger in them, but he just turned his back to him, and started to gather his things, stuffing it back into his bag. He looked around, until he found the syringe still on the table. Blood made no sound as it dripped from the top, onto the tray it laid on.

He took one last glance towards Haruhi's pale complexion before he finally turned towards the door for good.

"As a doctor I can't ignore that you're putting her health at risk. You know what she needs."

Hikaru glared. "I already said we can't."

"I don't have any use here then." His voice came out in a stern drawl. "I quit."

Kaoru gasped, and stood up straight, ready to hold the door close and degrade himself, and beg for him to stay in the room, but his legs wouldn't move. Not from the glowering, sideways glance he got from him.

He was still upset with him about Mayuki. There was no point in him saying anything. He was just as guilty.

He flinched when the door was slammed. A silence that was so heavy that his sigh almost echoed around the room. He spared his brother a look, just for a moment, and there was a look on his face, one he wasn't sure he had ever seen before.

"Hikaru?" He whispered.

"Are you happy now?" he muttered, with his fist clenched at his side. "This is why I never wanted to do it. I never wanted to be with anyone."

"This isn't your fault," Kaoru said softly, "Things like this happen, we'll figure it out."

"Things aren't going to work out, Kaoru. I didn't want to have to worry about this sort of stuff, but no one cared about that."

He felt something, right at his fingertips. It was a fuzzy feeling, like he had just touched the static off of an old television. It sprouted, running to his palm until his whole hand felt numb. He shut his other fist, trying to hold it down.

He was angry.

Something was snarling in his head, but then it was gone before he noticed.

God, how he wanted to hit something.

"...I know, and it's mostly my fault," Kaoru moved to stand beside him. He moved to lightly graze over Haruhi's hand that stuck out of the blanket. She twitched under his touch.

"I was selfish," he added. "I didn't care what your choice was. You didn't have to do what I did. But I was selfish and I forced it on you anyway... I'm sorry, Hikaru."

The feeling ran straight for his heart. It jolted him, it made his blood run hot, boiling his skin until it was inflamed. And then, there was a horrible thought that shoved it's way into his mindset, twisting and jerking all the gears until he was almost blind of his own actions.

"You knew what my weak point was and you took advantage of that." He mumbled even quieter.

"And I guess it makes me even more selfish," Kaoru sighed. "Because I don't really care."

And he didn't. He felt horrible, almost sick to his stomach, but he really didn't care. Because his brother's thoughts on this matter meant nothing to him. He felt happy, so incredibly happy.

"I guess I didn't think that there was any harm done because..." he paused, "I didn't think you'd actually fall in love with her."

And then, Hikaru finally realized what it was, what the feeling was, and why.

He wanted to hit his brother.

A tiny voice, whispering from the inside of his ear, told him to.

So he stuck his trembling fist deep inside his pocket.

"And I'm glad," Kaoru continued. "Because you said you'd never be able to feel that way again."

"I didn't." He answered, catching the guilty solemn look on his twin. "I never did."

Their shoulder's stiffly brushed as Hikaru took one cold step away from him, noting to make sure to be further than an arm's length away.

Even so, a smirk played on Kaoru's lips. "You're lying."

That strange feeling bubbled up again, almost surfacing this time. He thought of it, to spin on his heel to face his little brother, to grab his shirt, and cause him pain, in anyway possible.

But the opportunity to do it was gone, as Kaoru took another step towards the other direction.

"I know it was wrong, Hikaru," he admitted. Hikaru sensed fake regret in his tone. "I didn't care about anyone or what would happen. All that matters to me now is that... my brother's not dying anymore. And that you have someone you think is worth living for."

His footsteps grew further away, but they stopped, and time stood relatively still as he twisted his hand around the doorknob.

"Maybe you'll forgive me later."

Hikaru said nothing, and after a few more moments of absolute silence, the door creaked open, then slowly closed shut.

It was then that he felt exhausted. His legs couldn't keep him up anymore and he collapsed on the edge of the bed, slumping his face in his hands. He tugged on his bangs, closing his eyes so hard until he could feel the tension behind them.

What was wrong with him?

He... he wasn't really angry.

There was a vibration in his blood stream, as if something was telling him otherwise.

"Get out of my head." He groaned.

No one replied. But it continued to growl. It was like an animal, a vicious animal being tortured on a small chain with a stick.

He shifted his weight, averting his eyes to his belonging. His sweet precious, Haruhi.

"I don't feel that way, just so you know," he grumbled stubbornly, giving her arm a soft nudge. "So don't go around gloating."

Her nose twitched in response.

* * *

At last, she was left alone. She knew that now, now that she realized she had just been dreaming.

Her skin was so cold. Her eyes stung as her eyelids finally opened, but she closed them quickly, shivering from the inside.

She wiggled deeper into the warmth that was wrapped around her, and even if it didn't help, she found it comforting. And it smelt nice. She fidgeted again, feeling something moving against her cheek.

Her eye peaked open, as something slithered between her fingers. They were warm, and she squeezed her hand around it with all the strength she could muster; which wasn't a lot, but it squeezed back.

Haruhi turned her head, hearing a faint, thumping of a heartbeat. It was then that she realized she was pressed hard against someone's chest.

"Hey..." she breathed, almost silently. "What're you doing?"

They rustled beneath her, holding her tighter. "You're finally awake.."

"I think so," She waited a moment, blinking a few times to full wake herself up. "What happened? Where are we?"

Hikaru hugged his arms around her frail waist with her chin tucked just below his chin. He turned to stuff his face in her hair. "You passed out, and you're in my room."

She was too cold to feel embarrassed. "...Is this your bed?"

"Yeah."

"I remember being in the living room."

"You were," he grumbled. "But you passed out and now you're in here."

Haruhi blinked, as if she didn't understand that at all, but she let it pass. "...I'm cold."

"I know."

She wiggled again. She moved until she rolled off his chest and ended up at his side, with her head resting on his arm. There was nothing on her mind as her eyes started to slowly close again, just from the sheer comfortableness, but then she remembered something from earlier.

The last thing she remembered was feeling the floor at her knees, and a pair of arms supporting her. It was the smell of dust that gently soothed her senselessly to sleep. And there, she had the most horrible thought.

"Hikaru?" she asked.

He hummed.

"Why are you hugging me?"

"Cause," he avoided her gaze with another grumble. "You were cold."

She smiled, softly breathing, slowly inching her face closer to the warmth of his shoulder. "I had a dream... while I was asleep."

"Did you?"

"It was weird."

"Was it?"

"Someone was talking to me," she waited for a response, but she didn't get one. Instead, she felt his fingers lace through the tips of her hair. "I don't know who it was, but...I think she was talking about you."

He shut his eyes. There was a familiar pang in his chest, but he was trying everything to keep it from devouring him. He didn't want those three days to end yet.

"Hikaru?"

"What, Haruhi?" he sighed.

God, how this was painful.

"...Do you think something's wrong with me?"

He loosened his arms until they were merely draped across her, and turned to the ceiling, trying to breathe in anything other than her scent. "Yeah, I do. I think something's really wrong with you."

"There's something special about you too, isn't there?"

"If you want to call it that."

Haruhi pulled the soft blanket up over her nose, trying to grab something to thaw her stiff fingers. "...I'm scared."

Hikaru looked over, and the first thing he saw was their balled up hands beside them, still tied together. Her skin was still so pale. "...I don't think it's that serious." He assured. Though sympathy wasn't his strong point, so he didn't sound convincing at all.

"It's not that... I'm scared that something might happen to you."

"Why?"

"I don't know," she turned to her side, pressing her mouth to the blanket. "I just have a feeling that something will. It's a strange feeling."

He had a strange feeling, too. It was itching, trying to get his attention. And like a fly that wont go away, it made sure to remind him so he wouldn't forget. He tried holding his breath, but that only made it worst. He didn't want to get up, because he wasn't sure where else he'd go.

"Hikaru?" She interrupted his thoughts, and she didn't continue until his head rolled to look at her. "The other day... you said that neither of us could be with anyone else, and that... we're stuck with each other."

"Yeah."

"Why did you say that?"

"Because it's true."

"...Is it because of what happened that night?"

His head rested against the pillows, and he stared into her faded eyes (her blood's temperature must be affecting them, he guessed). She said nothing as he looked at her, and her expression barely faltered, while she waited for him to answer.

"Would you believe that we're cursed?" He said, his voice just above a whisper. "That we're not human?"

Haruhi hesitated. Her eyes traced down her arm, where she found their hands still perfectly entwined. "...Yeah."

He suddenly glared. "Why?"

"I'm not stupid, Hikaru," she said. "I know you're not normal. Your bedroom doesn't have any mirrors in it... but you don't use them anyway, because you don't have a reflection. No one in your family does."

"And before, I thought you were just talking about a hicky," her free hand lingered towards the side of his neck. Were her fingers brushed against something rough. "But It was about this, wasn't it? Kaoru has one, too."

"Everyone does, they're identical," he frowned. "But you're the only one who doesn't have one."

"Is that bad?"

"I don't know yet."

"But having it means... you're not sick anymore?"

"No, we're all still sick." He let out another sigh. "It means... that you aren't sick _alone_ anymore. It's a virus, and I gave it to you. I told you it was contagious. That's why I wanted you to stay away from us."

"So..." her words clogged her throat. "We're dying?"

"Everyone dies eventually," he pressed his cheek against the pillow. "But now you have a choice when you want that to happen. Unless you leave."

"That's why we're stuck together," he added. "I can't help you if you leave."

"Because...?"

"Because a small amount of the virus helps you, but it multiplies over time and starts to case damage. You can't cure it, but _we_ can take some of it away."

Haruhi blinked, twisting the tips of his hair around her fingertips. "You ran away from me so many times because of that? It doesn't sound so bad."

He looked down, finally pulling his hand away from hers. "Not everyone feels that way."

Her cold and moved from his neck, until her palm was cupping his cheek. He flinched but relaxed as she soothed her thumb over his skin.

"I don't care about all that." She replied, "I wouldn't have kept on chasing after you if I was ever going to."

"I'm just cold," she added before he could even open his mouth. "Will it be like this forever?"

Immediately, as if her words sat him off, he shrugged her hand off his face and sat up. "You're not normal," he muttered. "It's supposed to bother you. You're stuck with me forever. Why aren't you making me regret that?"

"Ya know... when someone loves you, they won't care if they're stuck with you forever."

He looked over his shoulder, greeting her softness with a perturbed scowl. "I never did anything to make you feel that way."

"You didn't have to."

"Why are you being so understanding?"

Her exhaustion was starting to return. She couldn't even raise her hand to his shoulder when she tried. "I've felt weird before You ever gave me anything, so I know this wasn't your fault. I just want it to go away."

She then closed her eyes for only a moment, trying to fight off sleep, but as she opened them again, Hikaru was leaning over her. Her mouth opened to say something, but his arms came around her waist and all that came out was a gasp, as he picked her up and awkwardly jerked her into his chest.

"H-Hika-"

"I can't take it anymore," he spoke into her hair. "Every time you say things like that, it makes it worse."

Her hands gripped is shoulders as she felt incredibly dizzy. "...I love you, Hikaru."

He didn't answer, but he didn't hesitate to pull away. She knew he didn't like it, but when she was ready to tell him not to leave, his hand snuck behind her head and pulled her even closer, until she was close enough to touch his lips.

Haruhi swallowed the air in her cheek as he kissed her. His tongue was so warm as it slipped between her teeth. It grazed the top of her mouth, and a spark of heat ran down her spine. It had been so long since she had felt anything that she clung to him tightly, hoping he wouldn't suddenly disappear.

The moment she thought that, she left his grasp, and she fell back onto the mattress. She breathed out the last on his breath he left behind and looked up at him with wide eyes. He crawled over her before she had the chance to protest, and his lips found the curve of her neck, teasing her collarbone.

He sucked and nipped at her skin, leaving a trail of pink blemishes before he stopped to lay one long, tasteless kiss just below her pulse point. The scent of something sour was too much now.

Seconds passed before he finally let his teeth sink into her neck.

Haruhi winced, curling her fingers around his arms, practically tearing her nails through his sleeves, digging into his own skin. An overwhelming feeling of something leaving her body, and something entirely different coming back. It brought a wave of warmth throughout her nerves, bringing heat to her bloodstream.

His other hand was cupped over her cheek, his thumb trying to soothe her, trying to keep her from moving. It had barely been two days, but he felt so much lighter.

His teeth retracted on their own, leaving behind a salty tang on his lips. He swallowed, trying to ignore the taste of blood on his tongue.

It left as horrible of a feeling in his gut as the first time doing it did. As did her expression.

Hikaru sat up, his hands leaving a brief lingering sensation on her bare hip as he moved away.

Haruhi gasped. She pressed her hands to the bed and tried to push herself up, but his hand on her shoulder pushed her back down.

"Hikaru-"

"It'll go away," he whispered. "You shouldn't move yet...I'll tell them you're awake now."

He then kissed her cheek.

She didn't say another word as he left the bed. She held a hand over where he had bitten her, and laid against the pillows, nearly immobilized by the virus that she couldn't move very much even if she wanted to.

The door was left partly open as he left, but she didn't even feel like calling after him.

"...He ignore me." She sighed. "Again."

* * *

Jurou stalked down one of the many empty halls. His collar was tightly buttoned and his fists were clenched at his sides.

As he passed an opened window, he could hear the voices of many small children. They were laughing about whatever it was that made children laugh in the middle early in the evening. He was supposed to be watching them, but he was missing someone. Minori was supposed to be with him, but like always, she wasn't.

It occurred to him that it might be a good idea to carry his cell phone while on his shift just so he could keep track of her when she'd decide to run off somewhere in the ridiculously large house.

He had been working for the Nekozawa's since he was twenty, and yet still, eight years later, no one would listen to him, and he could barely show himself around.

"Minori," He called out, knocking a single curled finger against the door to her room. "I hope you didn't forget that you changed your schedule. You're supposed to be babysitting."

There was no response.

Was she even in there?

"Minori," he groaned, gripping the doorknob. "If you're indecent you better fix yourself because I'm coming in."

There was a distinct sound coming from the room, but he wasn't sure what it was until he opened the door. Inside was lit by every light fixture there was, and it was silent, except for the sounds that were coming from the bundle of blankets on the chair near the computer desk.

They were wet, messy sobs, slightly muffled to the blanket she pressed against her face. She must've been too caught up in her own thoughts to hear him come in.

"Mino," he frowned. "Why are you crying?"

She raised her head with a long sniffle. Fresh tears had stained her swollen cheeks. "...Jurou."

With a long, drawn out exhale, Jurou kneeled down in front of her, shrugging out his handkerchief. "You're pretty close to drowning."

Minori flinched as he wiped under her eye. "I'm sorry. I forgot."

"About what?"

"About my work. I... I forgot it."

He smirked, cupping her cheek to wipe under her other eye. "Don't you always? What're you doing in here?"

She looked away and rubbed her sleeve under her nose, trying to muster up enough air to talk properly. "I... went looking for her parents again."

It took him a few moments to understand what she was talking about, but when he did get it, he glared, snatching his handkerchief back, balling up in his hand.

"That's it? I thought Mrs. Ayanoyuki was insulting you again. You shouldn't be avoiding your job for-"

"I know," she said softly. "I'm sorry. I got caught up. I was going to come down but then I found-"

"It isn't even your responsibility, you shouldn't even be wasting your time."

"I don't have anything else to do anyway," she looked down at her hands. "They're dead." Her voice hitched, "They both died... a long time ago."

Jurou sighed, mopping up her cheeks as she started to cry again. "Things happen. They were old what did you think?"

Taking the rag from his hand, she turned the chair towards the laptop that say on the desk. "I found them after looking for their names. They were in a car accident."

"Their daughter Koto is gone too. Now I'll never know anything else about her. Everyone who knew her is gone. I won't know if she ever had another family."

"Minori, if I knew you'd get this upset over a stranger, I wouldn't have let you-"

"Miss Kirimi was excited. I promised her I was going to find her someone who's apart of the family." She hid her face in her hands. "Master Nekozawa never comes out of his room anymore unless she's sick. She said she was lonely, and I-"

"Why would you promise something like that?"

"I-I thought I could-"

"Look at the page you're on, Minori," he stood up, glaring at the computer screen. "That's a website from a law agency. You're putting too much of your time in this."

"They were in a car accent right in front of that law firm," she looked at the screen, brushing her finger down the touchpad. "Their daughter worked there. That's why the article is on the site."

Not that he wanted to help her, quite the opposite actually, he wanted her to go to work, so they weren't both scolded for abandoning their duties, but he laid his hand down on top of hers to make her stop scrolling.

"Her name's linked." He said, making her click on it. "I guess she worked there until she died."

She looked down the page. Her red puffy eyes grew larger as she glanced briefly at the information printed next to the picture of a woman, on who matched the name of the relative.

Kotoko Fujioka.

"That's just a lawyer," Minori murmured. "Maybe she's the one who was in that case about that girl's parents."

"No, Minori, that's her." He said, stretching as he stood up straight. "Her last name is there in the middle. She must've gotten married at one point."

Scowling, she scrolled down the page, but it wasn't long so it led to nowhere. In the description, it must have been a small tribute to her, as her death and the cause of death was written down vaguely.

"She was thirty one..."

"As they all were. Not one female has lived past that in this family in over five hundred years."

"No one knows how she died."

"I wouldn't imagine they would."

Beside the page, was the main search site. Minori glanced down it until she eventually found the related searches. Which being another law firm, an address to a strange bar, the man who owned that said law firm, and Hikaru Hitachiin.

She stopped, a disgusted look forming over her wet face. "...Why is he there?"

"That twin got caught up in some problems and he was in court at one point or another," Jurou cursed at himself for forgetting the very thing he came in there for. "Minori, come one. Don't get me drawn in this again. It's time to go downstairs."

"Wait, I've seen this woman before," she said, grabbing onto the hem of his shirt. "Doesn't she look familiar?"

He sighed again. "I don't se a reason to look at anything the Hitachiin's are doing. Especially that man."

The first gossip magazine article she clicked on was all she needed.

 **Secret Fling Revealed** : _it's been a secret for a long time. Finally evidence confirmed that Hikaru's current play thing is, Haruhi Fujioka. A law student of Aichi University._

"Th...That's her daughter!" Minori sputtered in horror. "That's who Mr. Hitachiin has been with this."

"I don't think-"

"They've probably known this whole time!"

"Lower your voice. If they find us in here ignoring our-"

"The woman is Kotoko's daughter. They have the same name. _look_. The only reason the Hitachiin's are connected to her is because that twin is dating her."

Jurou looked at a picture of Hikaru and Haruhi. It was blurred, but even so, he still looked disgusted. "Who would date that guy?"

"H-...He's taking advantage of her."

"We shouldn't blow it out of the water."

"Why not? Its happened before." She whirled her head around to glare at him. "W-we have to find her." The chair jerked across the floor as she stood up. "This is all new, they must still be together somewhere, maybe their estate."

He gasped, and gripped her arm before she could get away. "Minori, we're not going to their estate. After the fire, he Hitachiin's and the Nekozawa's made an agreement. If you haven't noticed, _we_ work for the Nekozawa's. We're not allowed to step foot anywhere near there."

"But she might not even know. I doubt mister Aki even told Kauze about the curse. If we don't do something she'll end up just like lady Asuka. She'll get hurt."

"Minori, that's enough. We're in no position to interfere with them."

"No." She ripped out of his grasp. "A Hitachiin is taking advantage of another Nekozawa. What if it's too late now? I have to tell Master Umehito-"

"Minori, _no_ -"

"Get out of my way, _Jurou_." She growled.

"No. Minori, this isn't our business"

He tried to stop her again, but she slipped out of his reach. By the time he opened his mouth again, she was too far down the hallway to even hear what he said.

* * *

 _So... how many of you knew about his before they did?_

 _Again, I apologize for such a long chapter... I don't know what came over me this time._


	33. Chapter 33

**Half Way Gone**

* * *

Hikaru stared at the ceiling, with his hands folded behind his head. His skin had grown warm so he kicked off the blankets a long time ago.

He wasn't sure what time it was, or how long he had been laying there after his shower, but once the lamp was turned off, it was so dark he could only see what laid in the path of the moonlight as it swept in from the partly closed curtains. And that just so happened to be casting directly in Haruhi's direction.

He brought her into his room, as they couldn't tell if her health was stable yet or not. As much as she insisted that she was fine, no one wanted her to be alone, and lo and behold, he was the only one not paying attention to that conversation they had, and ultimately got roomed with her.

It was obvious that he was lacking in his manly pride that night, as he was too embarrassed to sleep with her in his bed, so there he sat, stretched out on the daybed in the corner, unable to sleep.

Now that he thought about it, the maids could have very well looked after her during courses of the night while being in her _own_ room.

He shifted his gaze across the room to look at her.

However, A feeling in his chest told him he probably would have liked that.

She laid on his bed, with her cheek smashed against one of the pillows. She was facing him, and he continued to stare at her, watching her shoulders raise the blankets as she breathed. Her brow was knitted into a frown as she slept, and occasionally she'd groan. He could only imagine she was dreaming; maybe about food.

After a moment Hikaru turned back to the wall. He remembered his mother calling her father, to let him know Haruhi wasn't coming home that day either after all. Tomorrow they'd go to his apartment and explain, but how was he supposed to tell him that his daughter probably wouldn't come back to live with him ever again?

He grimaced. He still had to break that news to her.

 _"I'm sorry, sir. I'm neither in or want to be in a relationship with your daughter, but because of odd circumstances you wouldn't understand, she will be living with me from now on, and because of the distances of our living arrangements, and your financial status, you probably won't see her very often. I hope you're not mad."_

Yes, Ranaka will be overwhelmingly pleased.

Maybe he could just _buy_ her from him and call it even.

With that thought he sighed and turned over, resting his head on his elbow. Look at the mess you're in now, Hikaru. He mused. Why does my actions always have consequences?

He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to clear his mind enough for him to fall asleep, and suddenly he felt incredibly warmer. It was a comfortable warmth, not like before. He breathed out, and tried to move his hand, but something was stopping him, so he stayed still.

How long had it been now? Maybe ten minutes? Not that that mattered, but the longer he laid there, the more his eyelids burned, and weighed over his eyes, as if something was forcing them closed. He hadn't realized he was this tired.

Hikaru tried to shift again, to turn on his other side, but something was stopping him, something pressing against his chest. He tried to raise his hand, but something else was keeping that down, and soon, he couldn't move a thing.

His heart nearly leaped out of his chest as something sharp ran across his abdomen, and along down his ribcage. His stomach jumped out of reflex and he groaned, but it didn't stop. It scraped his skin, running up his side, causing his to writhe awkwardly.

Finally it eased and he could open his eyes. He shrugged off whatever was touching him and sat up, He felt odd. His skin itched, but it wouldn't stop when he scratched it.

With a glance downwards, his eyes followed the red streak across his torso. It trailed down his side, and stomach. He swallowed, shifting away from the figure beside him, slightly disturbed.

He was alone a few moments ago. There was blanket on him earlier, but now there was his heavy comforter bundled around his waist. His breathing grew fast and hollow as he turned to the side, to see the daybed empty.

He was in his bed.

When did he...?

When did he move?

Hikaru looked down one more time.

And where did his shirt go?

His hand gripped the covered, ready to throw them off, to get out of the bed, but his whole body froze as a cold hand started running up his thigh. He jerked away from the cold sensation and grabbed it, but before he could toss it away from him, fingers curled around his palm.

"Haruhi," he hissed. "What're you doing?"

There was a grumbled, and her hand held his crushingly tight. Her nails dug his hand, making it impossible to pull away.

Hikaru glared, grabbing her wrist with his freer hand. "Stop it, you have to wake up-"

Her groan was muffled in the pillow as she pulled his hand under her. She was shaking, and he was sure he heard her whisper something, but it was so quiet, that he didn't understand what it was.

Her skin was cold again, so much so that it was making his own hand cold. He pushed against her shoulder, but she didn't budge. Even half asleep she managed to have more strength than him.

He tried to pull away again, but he stopped instantly as fidgeted muttering his name. He froze as she turned on her side, cupping around his side, hiding her face in his shoulder.

Her shoulders shook, then, there was a raw cackle, like she was laughing, but it was low, and emotionless. When the veins in her hands appeared from squeezing his hand so tight, he figured it wasn't because she was happy.

She moved away from him with just a turn of her shoulder, and brushed off the blanket as she sat up. Her hand lost it's grip on his hand and brought her fingertips to her forehead, flinching as she messaged her temple.

"Haruhi?" he tried reaching her again, more sternly. "Don't move if it hurts. Stay still, I'll-"

He stopped as she put her hand out, with her palm stopping near his cheek. He watched in silence as her cheek twitched, and her lips spread into a smirk

"I've been waiting for her to go to sleep." She said.

His widened, and his chest clenched as his heart missed a beat. That wasn't Haruhi's voice.

Her face turned just right, where the moonlight descended from the window. It was bright against her face, lightning up just enough of it where he could see her eyes. Her irises lost their brown, and instead possessed that familiar hue of grey.

She chuckled. "Oh, you're not so sure now."

Hikaru's breath caught dead in his throat. He moved back, further away from her. "But-"

She sat up, letting her brown hair fall over her face. "Why are you trembling? Are you scared of me?"

Her voice was so dark, and there was a rumble in her tone. It wasn't right, it didn't fit her at all. Her brow was creased into an expression he had never seen on her. It was... mischievous.

He quickly straightened his back and glared. "I'm not scared. Haruhi - cut it out."

"Shhhh,"she put a finger to her lips. "Haruhi's sleeping."

Hikaru gasped and scrambled to his knees as she sat up and leaned towards him. "Y-you're what made her sick."

"That's not true," she drawled, sounding genuinely offended, leaning on her hands as she inched closer to him. "She's not sick. She doesn't know what she is right now."

Soon, he ran out of mattress to back up on, and stopped. She crawled to be close to him, and she had gotten so close, he could feel her breath on his knee.

"You're bothering her," he growled, sinking his fingers into the sheets as he leaned further back, trying to avoid her gaze. "What _are_ you?"

"Is that how you talk to a lady?" she raised her brow, but she was amused. "I'm just like you. And I'm not bothering, Haruhi. Why would I do that?"

He flinched, feeling her cold finger run up his leg. He immediately shook it off and jerked to the side to get out of her reach. "You didn't answer my question."

"You have to be quiet," she whispered. "It's very fragile right now. Don't wake her up."

"Cut the crap, that's Haruhi _body._ "

"Well it's mine _now_."

His fingers clenched around the blankets. Her touch had set something off in him. It traveled to his mark, making it burn, but he couldn't take his gaze off her. "I don't know who you are, but leave her alone."

"Why are you so mad?" Again, another chuckle escaped her lips. "I had no idea where she was, but because of you, I was able to find her."

Hikaru ignored her. His gut wrenched as he moved his fingers to his mark. It was inflamed, burning, causing that whole side of his body to almost go completely numb with that sensation.

Almost hidden behind her hair, he could see the mark on her neck, and his lost a bit of color. "She's in pain. You're _hurting_ her!"

Her tongue darted across her bottom lip in response. "Maybe a bit, but she's mine. I can do whatever I want." She paused, then gave out a long sigh. "You're distracting me."

" _Screw you_ ," He spat.

"He acted just like you," she snickered, finally brushing her hair out of the way. "So similar it's almost disgusting." And with one solid movement, she fell on her hands beside him, it was so sudden he didn't have time to move away before she caught his hand in a tight hold and pinned it against the bed.

He could hear his heartbeat in his ears, and the closer she eased into him, the hotter his blood boiled. The feeling almost made his sick. Whatever it, or who, this was and what they were doing was causing something to go wrong within the physical connection.

This must be the reason why her mark would disappear over night. This must be why everything was so wrong.

"You mustn't think too much," she said through Haruhi's lips. Her chest moved closer until she was flush against him, so close that she could feel his heart hammering beneath her. "Hmm, I can smell it on you, so I was right."

Hikaru shivered, feeling her warm breath on his nose. He quickly turned away from It. "G-get off."

He felt as helpless was he did when sick. With her grip immobilizing him, he couldn't move. He couldn't push her away, and the more he struggled, the harder she pushed down, twisting his wrist just to see how far she could go, and what sound he'd make if he broke.

"I've been waiting to touch you," she admitted, tilting her face until she could look directly into his eyes. "You're so warm." She took a deep breath, laying her nose against his collarbone.

He gave up trying to say anything, she wouldn't listen anyway. Under her, he struggled, pushing against her shoulder but still she didn't budge, not even a little, and suddenly his wrist popped, and he cried out, giving a fruitless jerk to get away from her. Both were pointless.

"Agh," his whole body shook, and goosebumps formed around his arms as the tip of her tongue moved across the curve of his throat, and halfway up his neck. "S...stop it- _ah_!"

Her elbow was pushed into the crook of his shoulder, numbing his entire other hand before he could use it to throw her off. "It's been so long since I've heard a Hitachiin scream. Do it again." Her cold breath tickled his earlobe.

She leaned to the side, pushing her arm deeper into his shoulder, watching his face grimace painfully. She lowered her face, resting her nose against his before he hurriedly turned away.

"Twentieth descendent of his bloodline," she muttered bitterly, cupping the dry side of his neck, forcing him to look at her. "I'm ready for you to come with me, my little chosen one."

The sheets wrinkled beneath his hand as her fingernails continued to stab into the small bones of his wrist. Something was aching inside, as if her eyes were causing the veins to his heart to curl and twist into a knot. He only guessed that she couldn't feel pain, but he couldn't hurt her. This wasn't her own body, she was taking advantage of Haruhi and no matter how hard she pushed him, all he saw was, Haruhi.

Haruhi hands were restraining him. Haruhi's lips were breathing against his face. It was Haruhi's knees that were pressed between his legs.

The grey in her eyes flickered, as she leaned back, and he was sure he saw a glimpse of brown. She was in there somewhere.

He felt a kiss on his jaw. "Haruhi," he choked. " _Wake up_."

"She can't hear you like that," fingernails traced along his cheek. "Just hold still."

He had no choice but to tilt his face to look at her, as her finger slipped under his chin. When he noticed her lips inching closer to his, he tried to scoot away, but she had crawled on top of him, holding his entire body to the bed, under her mercy.

"I wouldn't have to take you away," she breathed, "If you hadn't have taken her away from me first."

Then, she kissed him. Her mouth was the only hot thing to her body, pressing against him, burning his skin with a blistering hot fire. His hands turned to fists around the sheets and he screamed, feeling all her weight being forced into the kiss. His lips parted, and he felt a warm breath pass the surface of his tongue. It left a hot sensation flowing down to his chest.

When she pulled away, he heard her gasp, but before his watering eyes could open to look at her, her hands gripped his shoulders, bringing him up, before she shoved him back down.

But he did not fall on the mattress.

THUD

With his lips finally free, he yelled as his back hit the cold hard floor.

His eyes flew open, staring wilding at the ceiling he was once looking at before. He was gasping, feeling his heart pounding into his ribs. Heat was lingering on mouth, burning his hand as he covered it.

Panicking, he sat up, feeling the shilling wood leave his bare back. His hands grasped the blankets hanging off the side of the daybed, and he looked around, feeling almost lost. He was looking at the daybed, as if he hadn't moved at all, even if he was on the bed only moments before. He looked towards it, but his bed was completely empty.

 _Where did she go?_

Hikaru scrambled to his feet, nearly stumbling as he lost his balance.

What was that? Did he... hallucinate?

His hands reached the bed and he pulled the covers away. The pillow he had seen Haruhi laying on didn't even have a crease in it. He threw his gaze around the room, but nothing had changed. It was as if what just happened, never happened.

As he calmed his breathing, the room fell almost silent. The only sound was the wind catching up, gusting against the south window, until he heard a faint scratching from the other side of the bed. He took no time going to it.

And he saw her there. Haruhi laying on the floor, with her hand curled, her hair draped over her face.

"Haruhi," he exclaimed, dropping to his knees beside without a second thought. Her finger brushed against her cold shoulder, moving her hair away from her eyes.

She shifted against his warm hand with a moan, and her eyes opened, staring up at him with wide eyes. "...Hika?"

He sighed in relief. He said nothing as he grabbed her hand, pulling her off the floor. She looked over her shoulder, and looked down where she was laying as if she hadn't even known why she was there in the first place, but the second her body moved, a sick feeling washed over her, and she collapsed against Hikaru without even trying to stand.

He stared into her large brown eyes, as she laid in his arms, and gently, he flicked her messy bangs aside. "You're going to be the death of me."

He sounded annoyed, but she ignored that. "...What happened?"

Without another word, he pulled her closer, taking advantage of being stronger than her now, and held her tight against his chest, almost crushing her. He hid his face in her hair. Her skin was smooth. Her mark must be gone now.

"I don't know." he replied.

"...I feel weird."

"Yeah."

"Hika- you're shaking."

 _"I wouldn't have to take you away, if you hadn't taken her away from me first."_

Hikaru breathed, smoothing her hair through his fingers. "...It was just a dream."

Haruhi grumbled, frowning as she pushed against his chest. "What?"

He looked at her, just looking into her eyes, watching a crease slowly form between her brow. He swooped down, and heard her squeal against his lips as he kissed her.

It was a soft, tasteless, normal kiss.

Just as she relaxed, he pulled away. He sighed again, and rested his chin on her forehead. "Yeah, just as dream."

Haruhi said nothing more, and he didn't move. She laid against him, using him as her new pillow, because for some strange reason, at one point during the night, she had fallen off the bed and lost the one she was using beforehand.

She listened to him breath, and the sound of his faint heartbeat slowly drifted her back to sleep, and the lingering sensation of his warm lips clueless as to why the dummy woke her up.

* * *

 **Sorry for the short chapter. This one seems especially short because of the earlier chapters that were so long, but if I continued without cutting it where I did, it would have been waaaayyy too long. At least I'll be able to post the next chapter earlier - I hope.**

 **It's already been a year since I first published this story. So I'll say, Thank you so much for sticking with it for this long, and this far, and I hope to see you when it's finally finished! As of right now, though, there is still so much more to it. THanks for reading ~**


	34. Chapter 34

**Your Own Clock Ticking**

* * *

There had not been a day in her life, since graduating Ouran and enrolling in a law program that she had been reprimanded as much as she had been that morning.

The moment Haruhi put her phone down, she just wanted to cry. But she was too exhausted for tears.

So much stuff had happened in the last week, she didn't even think about work- or rather-, the work she was missing, and every time she would think about going home to her and her father's apartment, something would come up and she wouldn't have the chance to even explain to him why she couldn't.

Here she was, on the brink of getting fired from her internship, and her father and close neighbors ready to call the FBI to find her location, and while she heard the shower being turned off from behind the closed bathroom door, all she could think was:

All this for a guy?

When had Haruhi Fujioka stooped herself so low?

When did this happen?

While going to Ouran, she was surrounded by the privileged and the attractive. She went to school with Heirs to some of Japan's largest companies. Some from families who made billions. And the second she's given the chance to take a bigger step towards a career she's wanted since she was five years old, and she's lets it all go... for a _guy_.

It wasn't intentional. Once, he meant nothing to her, and once she thought of throwing their budding attorney/client relationship away because he was being obnoxious.

Now, one look t him, and he has her completely turned to putty in his hand. He could shape her, construct her to do whatever he wanted. And if he asked her to commit a crime, she was afraid she just might do it.

Just then, her phone buzzed against the side table. She glanced at It, but it was from an unknown number.

To: Haruhi  
From: Unknown  
Message: It's Kichida. Tell your boyfriend to answer my calls. I'm tired of his crap.

Haruhi stared at it for a few moments before casting it aside, and ignoring it entirely. She of course knew what it felt like to be a lawyer and be ignored by a client, but there had been plenty of times she had Ryuto off, and that man knew _very_ well that she did _not_ have a boyfriend, much less that boyfriend being Hikaru.

She heard the bathroom door open behind her, and she turned. Hikau was standing in the doorway, with a towel draped across his shoulders. He looked to be too involved with his own thoughts to look at her, and at the sight of his bare chest, she hurriedly turned away.

 _Sure, share the same bathroom with him, and borrow the guy's bed, but we're not a couple. No, of course not. That would be preposterous._

Hikaru rubbed his face into the towel. "Who were you talking to?" He muttered. "You were talking a long time. I could hear you the whole time."

"My boss." She gave one dismissive glance towards her phone before standing up. "And uh... I'm sorry about last night-"

"I'll get over it."

"...About taking your bed. I think I'll go home today, so you won't have to feel obliged to sleep on the couch tonight."

He lowered the towel, leaving his damp hair tousled. "It's fine. I didn't sleep much anyway."

Those words might has come out more bitter than he had intended, but his sore muscles didn't care much about fixing it. Instead, he just dropped the towel on the floor and headed straight to his closet, without looking at her once.

He'd like to think last night didn't happen, that it was a dream, or a vision, but his aching wrist would say otherwise, so maybe if he avoided any physical contact, it wouldn't happen again.

He rubbed his eyes. Or maybe he just needed more sleep.

"Hika- wait."

Still, at the sound of her voice, he stopped immediately. He was staring at the floor, feeling heat rise to the back of his neck. He was rubbing his fingers together, waiting for her to continue, but she didn't. And suddenly, he flinched as he felt her fingertips on the back of his shoulders.

He spun around to glare at her, to tell her to wait until he was at least dressed, but any words that were dying to come out, died before they reached the tip of his tongue. The sad look she had in her eyes when he looked at her, nearly sucked the little energy he had left.

"What did you do to your arm?" Haruhi breathed, gently fingering along the bruise on his shoulder. "What did you do?"

"It's nothing," he shrugged off her touch. "Nothing happened."

"It wasn't like that yesterday. Why is it all purple?"

"I just bumped it," he whined childishly before sticking out his other at to push her away. "Quit touching me."

She grabbed his hand away from her chest and jumped as he gave raw hiss out of pain. Before he pulled away, she turned his hand over, gasping at the tiny blueish green bruises along his wrist. They were tiny, the size of fingerprints, and around his skin like someone had been grasping his arm.

"...That doesn't look like _nothing_."

Hikaru ripped his hand away. "You're too noisy for you're own good, ya know that?"

Haruhi frowned. "Not enough for _your_ good, apparently. You didn't get into a fight with anyone, did you?"

"What do you think I am?"

"Well I'd tell you, but I don't want to offend you."

Hikaru glared, but she just glared back, and soon their noses were almost touching as she stood on her tiptoes. They were so close, the water from his hair dripped from the hair over his ears, and fell on the sleeve of her shirt.

Then, after a moment, she fell back onto her feet and a crease grew above her brow. She stared at the tender marks on his skin for so long even his expression began to falter.

It was hard looking at him with a straight face. His body must be littered with scars, or soon-to-be ones, bumps and bruises. On his other arm, the large gash from only a few days ago was only just starting to heal, but she could tell from the way it looked now, that he still couldn't stop messing with it.

"I wish you wouldn't always think it's no big deal."

"Yeah," his eyes lowered to her hands he found against his ribs. "Me, too."

She looked up at that, turning her attention away from his wrist. Their eyes met and she could see the look he was giving her. There seemed to be a look in his that she couldn't perceive. It wasn't annoyance, or anger, but there wasn't an ounce of happiness. He looked almost sad, but not quite. Then, he looked like he wanted to say something, but as his lips moved, he stopped. Then he frowned.

"I like it better when you're mad at me," he admitted. Then his hand slipped across her cheek, burying his fingers into her hair.

He pulled her forward a step closer, but it was sudden and her legs rejected it, so her hand practically slammed against his chest, but he was unfazed. He cupped her face then hesitated before he kissed her.

His lips were soft, but cold. There was a hint of mint - maybe mouth wash? - and just after a few seconds of being taken aback, her fingers delicately around the side of his neck and just barely closed her eyes.

Hikaru pulled away first. His hands fell from her instantly and he stepped back.

"SENSE, scheduled a magazine shoot later today with mom. But she has a convocation with someone in Kanagawa, so I have to fill in for her at the warehouse." He said, and with that, he walked passed her, barely brushing her shoulder as he headed to his closet.

Haruhi wiped her finger across her bottom lip, watching him disappear between the sliding doors.

"Yeah, I... have to work, too." she said.

There was a long pause before he replied.

"Then... I'll drive you."

"That's strangely sweet of you."

Then there was a loud thump, then something heavy fell to the floor. A round lid rolled out from inside, and there was a muffled swear. Hikaru stumbled out of the mess, with his bangs swishing messily over his eyes.

"I didn't mean it like that! It's cause you don't have your car. I wouldn't be picking you up because I want to." He argued. "I'm... actually really _busy_ today."

"Then I'll get a bus."

"Well, I mean... it wouldn't take _that_ much time out of my schedule. And... It _is_ on the way."

She rolled her eyes.

* * *

Many hours later, well after lunch, and progressing towards dinner, Haruhi found herself waiting in front of her law firm, snuggled tight in her coat, leaning against the brick building.

It was cold, and shady. Dark gloomy clouds had gathered overhead, erasing the shadows of even the scary ally-ways. When she held her breath, she could hear the last remaining tree leaves crackling against the slight breeze.

It would've been nice, had she not been in the company of a certain someone.

"It's not my fault. It's not my job anymore. I don't see why I should have to keep tabs on him for you. You _are_ the one who wanted his case." She said.

Ryuto glowered, flicking the tab of his lighter. Using his other hand to protect his cigarette from the wind before it lit. With the cold weather putting a damper on smock breaks, it was making it a real pain to have to sit and wait for wives to pick you up. Not to mention the chance of snow in the recent forecasts.

"You're just being like that because I took the case for you," a puff of smoke lingered through the brisk air as he breathed. "At least when you see him, tell him to answer to my damn emails. He _is_ who you're waiting for, right?"

"Well... I guess."

"Then I'll just tell him myself."

Haruhi groaned. "Ya know, despite whatever you saw in some stupid tabloids, I don't spend ever waking moment with him. He was just a client that... progressed into a friend."

"But you're sleeping with him? I mean, you are at his place _quite_ a lot."

She whirled around, curling her nose in an scowl. Ugly words were hanging, just barely at the tip of her tongue, ready to be spoken, but she caught sight of the smug smirk on his lips, and looked away. Leaving her shoe to dig away at the sidewalk to silently vent.

"We don't do that... Not that it's any of your _business_ ," she added. "but... we're in a strange situation so I've been over at his house a lot lately ."

"Ah... unplanned pregnancy."

"You know what, Kichida-"

"It's not that your personal life is amusing to me," he gave her a sideways glance before sticking his cigarette between his lips. "I just really need him to actually show up to court. That's all I'm asking. He's missed two dates, if I ask them to move it again they'll issue out a warrant."

"And _poof_ there goes your reputation."

"Exactly."

"Well if he isn't going to show up when I tell him directly for me, he's not going to go if I tell him for someone else. He's stubborn, and he's not afraid to go to jail, so try to keep him out of there as much as possible."

He huffed. "Well jail time is certainly a norm for that family. His twin brother was arrested not too long ago."

"Read that on an Article?"

"Magazines _do_ love that family though."

"He was wrongfully accused."

"Of course he was."

Haruhi turned away, trying to ignore him. It seemed though, that he wanted to make his presence as known as possible, as every time he blew out from his cigarette, the smell of the smoke would linger in the air around her. The lack of summertime air didn't help filter it, so it was as if she was standing there just waiting to die.

Until she saw headlights coming up the drive-around parking lot. She looked up from the ground, where Ryuto had began rubbing the remains of his cigarette into the pavement, and watched as a black car slowly made it's way in front of them.

She looked at it in wonder. The car Hikaru was driving when he dropped her off was _silver_.

Then, the driver's door opened and a man, who's eyes were hidden behind dark glasses, stood up, draping his arms over the roof of the car.

"Excuse me," he muttered. "Are you, Haruhi Fujiroka?"

Ryuto laughed.

Haruhi glared at him, before looking back at the car, seeing someone sitting in the passenger side, but the windows were too tinted, she couldn't tell. " _I'm_ _Fujioka_." She answered hesitantly.

The man watched her for a moment, frowning. His lips made a strange movement, twisting in thought. There was movement in the passenger seat, and he suddenly swopped his head down. There was, what sounded like, a hushed argument before he popped back up.

"It's been a long couple of hours," he mentioned airily. "I'd love to exchange introductions, but I really do think we can do that in the car."

Ryuto raised his brow and looked down at her. "Is that your boyfriend?"

Haruhi continued to pretend he wasn't even there. "Um... did Hikaru send you? Because He told me to stay here until he came."

"Yes! unfortunately he... couldn't make it," the man paused, before clapping his hands together. "You get personal chauffeurs today. Yay!"

She looked at her acquaintance, who hadn't obtained the title 'friend' yet, but saw that he was uninterested. The stranger's voice was dripping with so much fake enthusiasm that it made her spine tightened with anxiety.

"Where are we going then?"

"Somewhere special. Then we'll take you where ever you'd like," he grinned. "But it's a surprise."

"Oh... okay."

A surprise from Hikaru?

How many wrong ways could this go?

Ryuto watched as the man walked around the car to open the door for her. There was a feminine squeal from the passenger seat once she got in, and before he could hear Haruhi question anything further, the man closed the door.

The man tipped his cap towards him in riddance before he went back to the drivers side.

The crease on his forehead dented in his brow as he watched the car drive away. A puff of exhaust was the only thing left in their wake as the car disappeared around the corner.

Ryuto sighed as he pulled out another cigarette from his pocket.

"I should have asked her for his phone number..."

* * *

Supplies and materials littered the floor of the large, Hitachiin rented warehouse. Things probably would have stayed a lot tidier, had their mother came along with them, but maybe then, the model's hired for the magazine shoot wouldn't be so uncooperative, and picky.

Kaoru was impressed that his older brother hadn't actually slapped any of them, yet.

Hikaru _did_ flick an imaginary fly off one of the girl's forehead's though, just to make her angry, but even he couldn't scold him for that. She _was_ being the biggest complainer out of them all.

He turned away from the table that had piles of their miscellaneous junk, brought from their office downtown at the sound of one of their model's yelling something about a 'broken bra strap'. He almost dropped the clipboard in his hand, when there was a muffled swear behind one of the curtains.

"I tell her not to, she say's it's not my decision. I say don't do that, she does it anyway," a gruff complaint came from Hikaru as he flung the curtains out of his way. "And people wonder why I was alone."

"Quit hitting my mannequins, please. These one's are alive this time." Kaoru crouched down to pick of the pile of papers that fluttered to the floor as his twin tossed a binder on the table. "If there's a problem, maybe you could try asking nicely."

"Maybe you should try asking her why she insists on wearing the dress that doesn't fit the size of her fake _chest_."

"You know the whole floor can hear you?"

" _Good_."

"I can't help but feel like your patience is running a bit thin this afternoon," he turned all the way around for his eyes to follow Hikaru as he walked around the other side of their small working space. "If this is about yesterday, I'd be more than happy to take this attitude from you at home than here while we're working."

With a loud groan, Hikaru carelessly swiped off all the paperwork off the chair, and collapsed into. Kicking himself until the chair rolled to the whiteboard.

"We both know why we're here," he muttered, popping a marker's cap open with his teeth. "Same reason she made Mayuki take her spa membership for today."

"Same reason that we've been here for over 3 hours and still haven't taken any pictures." He added, glaring at the board. "These are mom's specially picked model's for her summer line next year. They're so annoying, you can tell they were paid."

"You think mother staged a whole photo shoot so we'd get out of the house?" Kaoru suggested.

Hikaru grumbled, making his marker squeak as he wrote down the time sheet.

"If that's the case, then why are you getting so angry at them?"

"I'm not angry."

"You're whole face in turning pink. Now that might just be because you're imaging Haruhi in that dress you have sketched right over there, or you're just having another fit, but either way-"

Hikaru spun around, glaring so hard, Kaoru was sure his face might actually stay like that. "It's got nothing to do with Haruhi. Quit snooping through my stuff."

Kaoru blare gave a glance to his side, where the said sketch laid, half covered by another piece of paper. "Well the resemblance between this naked lady, and Haruhi, is a bit uncanny."

Hikaru's face flared up, and he jerked so fast towards the table that he almost fell out of his chair. "She doesn't even have a face. You can't tell." He reached out to take the picture, but it was taken out of his arm's length before he got to it.

"Maybe not, but..." Kaoru leaned back as Hikaru stood up and tried to take it from him. "I've never actually seen you draw any figures with such a small chest..."

Hikaru gasped, ripping the paper out of his hand once he finally handed it back. "You're doing this on purpose, go away."

"Oh look! You have a different shade for when you're embarrassed, too."

"I will seriously beat you with the bluntest object I can find. Right now, it looks like I'll be using a fire poker."

Kaoru laughed. "Grandmother's right. It is fun. I've missed you, Hikaru."

"Go burry yourself, already."

Grinning, the young one looked down at his watch, before pulling his sleeve over it. Wasting another ten minutes just to tease his twin wouldn't do. If they wanted to go home tonight before sundown, they needed to stop bumping heads and get the girl's dressed for the shots. Not to mention get themselves primped up and ready for the photographers at five.

He looked at his brother, watching his sulk with his chin pillowed on his arms. He was glaring at the picture he had thrown, as if it had personally offended him. Kaoru was trying to ignore it, because he had bothered him enough already, and didn't think his twin could take anymore and not lash out, but his mouth started moving on it's own, and words just tumbled out.

"Hikaru," he breathed, frowning at his brother until he looked back. "I know I'm not your favorite person right now, but if something's really bothering you, you can come out and say it. I can see that provoking you, isn't going to force it out of you."

"Nothings wrong," Hikaru insisted, "Just... didn't get a lot of sleep."

"Why not?"

"It's dumb."

Kaoru hesitated. "...If you're _actually_ embarrassed about Haruhi, I'm sorry for picking on you-"

"It's not that," flustered now, from annoyance, Hikaru turned his chair to the side. "It was just a dream."

Seeing as he didn't continue for the whole minute Kaoru stood there, Kaoru took it that he didn't plan to anyway, and turned his back to him, waving apologetically towards a makeup-artist who was looking for a model who ran away to hide from his older brother's wrath.

"Just be careful with yourself, Hikaru," he said, giving his watch another spare glance. "Now you're under the influence, it's not just your body anymore. If you make yourself sick it'll bother Haruhi, too."

"Yes, yes. Kaoru knows best."

"Kaoru does know best, damn it. But no one ever listens to him."

Hikaru scoffed, tossing his dying marker into the trash bin. It missed the can however, but he didn't show any signs of getting up to put it back. He turned his chair back around and kicked the table to push himself to the other side, to drab his schedule, but he stopped as his eyes fell on the picture his brother had commented on.

Maybe he was being a bit over exaggerate earlier that day, but that face had been haunting him since the moment he woke up.

He finally looked up again, as he heard his brother's footsteps blossom further away. "Kaoru, wait."

As if on cue, Kaoru stopped immediately. "Hmm?"

"That... picture," he mumbled, awkwardly. "It's not-... It's not, Haruhi."

He smirked. "I know, Hika. I was just pick-"

"It's Fumiko."

Hikaru saw the look on his face fall drastically, and shape into an expression that was a mixture of all sorts of disgust. He opened his mouth but Hikaru continued before he could even form an appropriate sentence.

"Wha-"

"She's in my head," Hikaru admitted. "When it's quiet, I can hear her say things. I've never met her before but... whenever I try to work, I can see her in my head, and..." his brow twisted, as his words started to trail off.

"She keeps telling me what to do," he finally added, burying his hand in his hair. "Like she's trying to make me angry. And then I get angry and I don't know why."

Kaoru cleared his throat, and made it a point to look over his shoulder to make sure no one was listening.

"Hika..." he bit his lip. "Fumiko's dead."

Hikaru glanced up almost desperately. "Then why does it feel like she isn't?"

He lowered his gaze away from his face, empathetically. "I don't know..."

Suddenly, there was a high-pitched whistle, behind him, and Kaoru turned around. A photographer from the SENSE magazine publisher was waving his finger towards them, idly standing in the middle of the floor, just asking for attention with the flashy dress shirt he wore.

"I don't know, Hika," he said again, before turning around, with another disgusted look towards the drawing. "Just get rid of that disturbingly attractive picture of her. It's makes me uncomfortable. "

Hikaru crumbled it up into a tiny ball, before throwing it, and aiming it towards his head.


	35. Chapter 35

**Mind Of Infestation**

* * *

 _Do you ever feel trapped? Or lost? Do you ever feel scared to move? Because unknowingly, you've been living in a sheltered corner all your life. And now, you're forced out and suddenly you have to stand on your own, and you just feel so completely lost. The world had changed so much while you were ignoring it, that now, you feel like a tourist in your own neighborhood._

 _And that very person, who was supposed to be holding your hand, lets go, and walks away. Someone who was the reason you stayed together, and now that they're gone, they're the reason you're falling apart._

 _That one person who made you rethink your entire existence, and made you think: 'Maybe life isn't so bad now'._

 _Then you realize that, it is._

 _You feel lied to. You feel empty. You feel wrong._

 _You realize you deceived yourself, that you betrayed that gut wrenching feeling you've had since you were fourteen._

 _The world, and everyone around you was placed there for your sole entertainment. Don't get close to them. Don't let them find your weak spot. Don't show your feelings._

 _Don't take them for granted._

 _Don't ever make the same mistake again._

 _You think that._

 _Then you realize you've fallen for the enemy._

 _The same person who changed you, and made you into something you wished you were for a long time._

 _But you can't go back. Because love makes it so, that you simply can't go back. Not to how things used to be._

 _You can't simply hate someone, who once made you so happy._

 _Oh, but he could try._

* * *

"I already said that. I don't know where she is, I wasn't with her. I'm just a receptionist." The young woman behind the desk exclaimed. Her firm eyes not doing justice for her timid whine.

Hikaru stood up straight, glaring at his surroundings. There was something unsettling about the law building he found himself at to find Haruhi, who had apparently gone missing. Maybe it was because he was considered a criminal to everyone in the place who walked passed him. Because he had been ignoring an important court hearing.

Of course, there was nothing more unsettling than seeing security guards around ever corner. There was nothing like the feeling that you're going to get arrested! It would make for an amusing dinner conversation for his family, at least.

Why didn't he pay those fines when Haruhi told him to?

That's a good question...

"Well then find someone who does know," he argued, " _receptionist_."

"Ryuto was the only one with her before someone came to pick her up," she answered, glowering, "but he isn't here. He left a little over a hour ago."

"Who?"

"Oh, Ryuto isn't apart of this ward. He works with Mr. Yoshiaki. He's actually the-"

"No not him! I don't care who he is. Who were the ones who came for Haruhi?"

She sighed, fixing her glasses as she sat back I her chair. "All I know is what Ryuto said. He said a couple of personal chauffeurs came and took her some place. I'm guessing they were one of the Hitachiin's."

"But _I'm_ that Hitachiin, and I didn't send for any cars." He groaned.

The young girl's eyes widened almost to the extent of the rims of her spectacle. "Wait, _you're_ a Hitachiin?"

"That's only a fact I thought you knew this whole _bloody time!_ "

She gasped. "Everyone's been going on about it. Is Haruhi _really_ your girlfriend?"

"You're trying my patience, receptionist."

"You're actually kinda cute despite what everyone has been saying about you. If my boyfriend looked like you, I probably would have jeopardized my career, too."

"We have gotten insanely off topic," with that, he flung his hands off the desk and spun around to face the door. "If she calls-"

She raised her brow. "Who?"

" _Haruhi_!"

"Ah."

Hikaru paused to exhale a growl. "If she calls, tell her I came by."

" _Oh_ , _oh_ , wait!" She stood up so fast her chair almost flipped backwards, and her empty coffee cup nearly rolled off onto the floor. "If you have a minute, could I get your phone number?"

"I might regret that, so _no_."

Hikaru turned around completely, and for good this time. The words that tumbled out of her mouth, as she waved her hands to get his attention were wasted on him, as he just stuck his tongue in his cheek and shoved the doors out of his way, leaving the disgruntled receptionist in his wake. - She wasn't very good at her job _anyway,_ which was his excuse, and he didn't have the nerves to bother with her anymore; his last one was hanging by a thread.

He wouldn't be so irritant if the pain in his head would ease. It especially wasn't helping that Haruhi wasn't answering his calls, and wouldn't even read any of the messages he had sent. It had been over an hour since he first called her to tell her he was on his way. He got to her firm, only to find that she was already gone, after hitching a ride with someone else.

That _someone else_ , supposedly being a chauffeur he called for. Which he most certainly did _not_.

This whole ordeal was making his skin itch. One of his scheming family members must have called for someone. It was the only way someone would have known around what time he was scheduled to pick her up himself.

He was with Kaoru all day, so it must have been his mother. Maybe it was apart of an secret under-the-table plan to get everyone out of the house.

Hikaru grimaced at the possibilities of what the reason could be, and he only hoped it wasn't a social party hosted at the mansion.

He really _did_ hate it when his mother would invite strangers to the house without his consent. Especially if it involved females. _Ugh_

It was even more annoying knowing that he just took half and hour out of his day because of these shenanigans.

What a giant pain in his-

 _Hikaru._

His body suddenly halted at the sound of his name. His backbone shivered from an internally cold sensation, and he turned around, expecting a woman to be standing there. But no one was behind him. He was alone on the sidewalk.

 _Hikaru._

He turned back around, scowling at everything his eyes touched, but nothing was different from a few seconds ago.

Then, out of nowhere, there was a tightening in his chest, as though someone was grasping his heart. It made his stagger back, gasping for the air that was suddenly stolen from him. His hand rested on the lamppost as his other hand pressed against his shirt. This was familiar, and it was happening again.

He was under the influence, why was he feeling this now? It had only been a day and a half, why was this happening _now_?

Hikaru choked, curling his fingers around the post as the tightening intensified. The pain in his head took hold of a single part of his brain and twisted it, making it throb.

That voice, it was in his head. Again.

 _Hikaru_.

" _Stop it,_ " he gasped, pressing almost his entire weight against the light, "stop- _go away_."

It was her, again.

Her voice was like an angry snake, hissing at him, as if he wronged her someone just by breathing.

He didn't know what this was for, what she was trying to show him, or why he had such a burning sensation in his gut. His mind traced back to the conversation he had with his brother earlier, but Kaoru hadn't said anything relevantly positive, or explained to him why this was happening (like he should have done), and now it only brought a vivid image of his twin's face, raw behind his eyes.

It stirred and jabbed at emotions he had been trying to subdue all day. And without even trying, something horrid, _rotten_ , bubbled over his core. It made his skin sear so incredibly hot, that when a cold gust blew around him, and even disturbed the staggering leaves, he didn't feel it.

He had never felt so much hatred for the most important person in his life. Why was it always, Kaoru?

What made it even worse, was that he wanted to have those feelings. He _wanted_ to hate him. His body wouldn't accept it any other way.

 _Are you... angry?_

A low grunt escaped his throat as he slumped his temple against the cold light post, burying his fingers into his forehead. The pain grew. A twinge curled and twisted, locking his nerves in place, refusing him control of his own body. He closed his eyes, only to see a horrifying picture of her face.

She was grinning, mercifully. A cold expression painted wickedly in her eyes. It was evil, and she was grinning, for the most vile reason - for his pain. She was enjoying it, feasting on his agony. It was even more enjoyable knowing that his suffering was because of _her_.

It was when a ear rattling scream echoed against the tender rim of his brain that Hikaru finally collapsed, feeling every ounce of his body shake, like an aftermath of an earthquake. Hundreds of hushed whispers followed, filling his head with so much noise he couldn't hear himself breathe.

Somewhere, through the tangled mess of voices, a woman was crying, but from a pain that was far too horrible to be something physical. His heart palpitated, quickly skipping a beat, and aching, as if he could feel her pain.

Men were cursing, spewing so much hate that he couldn't interpret what it was all going towards. They were yelling, screaming over a child's evil cackle. There were so many voices that weren't his own, that he was starting to question whether he still had one.

But her voice that spoke the loudest.

 _Can you hear them?_

" _No_ ," his voice strained painfully, as his knees sunk down harder against the pavement. "Fumiko, _stop_ \- get out of my head- _agh_!"

His whole body started to crumble, helplessly.

There were so many emotions that were his, making him angry, making his chest flood with so much sorrow that wasn't his. His body was so confused. There, being so much hate inside him, so much so that he felt like a newly inflamed fireball, just waist to combust, just as there were sad tears burning beneath his eyelids.

But even then, it felt nowhere near as bad as he felt like it could be.

 _Somehow_. Somehow he knew that it could only get so much worse.

And then...

Tap, tap.

Something touched his shoulder.

"Hey!" An irritated grumble came from above him. "Sir, is everything okay?"

And everything was gone.

From the moment someone tapped his arm, everything had stopped, and it left him completely numb. The voices instantly silenced themselves, as if they knew a stranger was watching.

It felt so alien to be sitting in silence, that it was almost frightening.

"Sir."

" _What_?" he half shouted, looking almost wild.

Words tumbled out of his mouth so rashly he was shocked from what came out, and quickly shut it, seeing as the person who touched him, was a police officer.

Above him, the officer frowned, crossing his arms. "Then I won't ask about _you_. Is this your car here?"

Swallowing, Hikaru's eyes followed to where the man's finger was pointing to and hesitantly nodded as he was pointing to his silver Audi.

He slowly got off his knees. "Why?"

He flinched as a piece of paper was shoved into the air, near his face.

"Because this is a _'no parking'_ zone." The officer answered.

Out of habit, Hikaru snatched the paper from him hand and looked at it. And just as he thought- It was a parking ticket. Apparently he had been out of it for so long the officer had enough time to write it.

He rubbed his temple. "If it means anything to you, the car isn't necessarily in my name."

"Unfortunately for you, it doesn't, so-"

"But I can't find my lawyer."

The officer rolled his eyes. "I have other things to do, so just move the car."

Hikaru waved the ticket exaggeratedly. "I don't have time for _this_. Could we just-"

"Not my problem pal."

Trying to ignoring the fact that he was only inside for ten minutes at most, and his car was in no mean in anyone's way, Hikaru watched the man in uniform tuck his hands in his pockets, and walk away. He looked at the written ticket for only a moment before he crumbled it between his fingers and hid it away in his jacket.

The first step he took was shaky, and he held onto the post for support. Whatever happened just moments before, must have messed with his head, because now, he felt too weak to move.

 _Fumiko..._

Why did he say her name then? Why couldn't he picture her face anymore?

He didn't want to know, for whatever reasons they were. He just wanted to go home, but of course he had bigger problems now than just a pestering backache. His current blood-bonded partner was still missing, and if the tanuki-looking rodent doesn't show up, it was going to complicate things far too much for him; more than necessary.

After a deep breath, the next step he took planted his foot firmly on the pavement, but what he didn't expect, was for something to crack and scrape beneath his shoe.

When he stepped back, and tentatively picked the object up, the little bit of sun light left, danced against the metal cuff link that sat between his thumb and index finger. It was a honey-gold shade, now dirtied with scuffs, and in the middle, an 'N' was welded, but now dented in, in the middle.

It was signature, and looked horrifyingly familiar to him.

With an angry, disgusted scowl, he curled it inside his fist.

His day had just taken a turn for the worse.

* * *

Sometime during the long drive, (that she was only conscious for thirty minutes of it) Haruhi had fallen asleep. She woke up from a jolt of the car coming to a stop.

She sat up awkwardly, wincing against the kink in her neck. On impulse she wiped the side of her lips and glanced around, just as the breaks squealed into park. She wasn't sure how long it had been, but as she spared a brief glimpse out the window, there wasn't a sliver of shadow on the gravel road, or beneath the trees it led into.

Haruhi rubbed her hand into her eye. "Um... where are we?"

There was movement in the front seat. The man sitting on the drivers side let out a long sigh, but the woman on the passengers, threw off her seatbelt and flung open the door the moment the engine was cut off.

Haruhi had no time to really process what was going on, from her drowsiness, and nearly fell out of the car when her door was thrown open.

"You're awake!" the girl, looking no older than twenty. "We have to get inside and tell the master you're here. He doesn't know yet, but the young miss is excited to meet you."

She had been in the car the whole time with them, but Haruhi couldn't recall ever hearing her say anything. Maybe it was because of the tinted partition window that was between them, but her face was red, as though she had been holding in everything she wanted to say, and was about to combust.

She reached out to grab her hand, but Haruhi leaned back away from her, receiving a disgruntled frown in return.

"Wait," Haruhi blurted, fisting her seatbelt. "Where _are we_?"

The girl blinked. "...At the mansion." She then reached for her hand again.

"Let's be considerate, Minori," the man behind them, scolded. "We _did_ just kidnap her. The last thing we need is the police coming this way if she screams."

Minori frowned. "I'll be nice. It's just getting dark and..." she stopped herself, then turned back to Haruhi. "I mean... Um... _Hi_."

Haruhi looked between the two of them suspiciously, reaching for her belt buckle. "...Hi?"

"I'm Minori," she flashed her a quick grin, before helping her out of the car. "And that's, Jurou. I know he looks scary, but he's nice. Don't worry, you don't have to scream. We won't hurt you."

Gravel crunched under her shoe as Haruhi stepped out of the car, and she faced a wide grassy plain, guarded by a tall metal fence, that climbing weeds and vines had long decided to inhabit. Behind it, tall maple trees stood bare. Nothing about the area looked familiar at all.

She turned the direction the wind came, just as it brushed her hair against her cheek, and her eyes widened. It was a tall, brick mansion, with large sculpted columns. With the large trees, it was shaded so darkly it looked almost eerie. It certainly wasn't the Hitahiin's.

"Wait a second," Haruhi ripped her hand from Minori's grasp, and almost stumbled back into the car's open door. "What is this? Where's Hikaru?"

Silence ignited between them all, and after just a few moments, Minori turned to her companion, but he purposely ignored her, as if silently telling her to do it herself.

She swallowed and took a step away from the annoyed brunette. "Hikaru isn't here. I'm sorry, but if we had told you that we-"

"I can't be here," anxiety strained her voice, as Haruhi started feeling her pockets. "W-where's my phone?"

Minori looked towards Jurou again for help, but he was already walking towards the mansion. "I-I'm sorry! You can have it back, but there's a reason why we brought you here. I promise it isn't anything bad! And we'll take you where ever you want after the master meets you."

"I don't want to meet your _master_ ," Haruhi snapped, looking towards her feet, thinking maybe a way out might be on the ground. "I have to go home. Hikaru's-"

"Miss Kirimi!" a gasp from beside her cut off at train of speech she had, and Haruhi looked up, still flustered with annoyance.

Down the gravel path, a young girl, with a long blonde ponytail was running towards them. She seemed to be giggling and saying something to Jurou who was trying to tell her to stop running, but she didn't until she came ear the car.

Her cheeks were flushed, but she was barely out of breath. "Did you find her?"

"Kirimi?" Haruhi exclaimed, staring at the thirteen year old girl. "Wait...You're _Nekozawas_?"

"Please, Miss Fujioka," Minori pleaded. "Let me-"

"Why am I _here_?"

"Are you the girl from this photo?" Kirirmi intervened, her voice shaking ecstatically as she pulled out a worn and crinkled picture from her pocket.

From the look she was being given, Haruhi didn't have to heart to tell her otherwise. Though, even if she wanted to, one look towards the ripped photo between the girl's small fingers, she saw that it wasn't just a picture of a young brunette. It was a picture of the Host Club. It was one taken by Kyouya, of the hosts socializing with Umehito and young Kirimi, but she was hardly recognizable. It was of course, ten years ago.

It was one photo of many that were sold on their website.

"Bookworm!" Kirimi shrieked.

Haruhi flinched, "Well, not really. I don't even have a-uagh!" she stumbled back as the girl launched herself at her. Her arms wrapped tightly around her middle.

Everything about this felt wrong. Of course, it couldn't be too bad, but even so. She couldn't stop thinking about what Hikaru might say or do. This was already going to cause him an inconvenience for driving to her workplace for no reason, so he'll scold her for that, but ever since the hotel incident, she had been scared to leave him alone.

A recent conversation of their didn't make her feel any better about it either.

"Mistress Kirimi," Jurou huffed, breathlessly as he came up behind them. "If your brother sees you running around just after you got off bedrest, he'll be furious."

"I don't care about that," she stuck her lip out, pouting, before she looked up at, Haruhi. "Lets go play in the garden! I want to show you my collection."

With just an innocent, excited smile, Kirimi grabbed hold of Haruhi's hand, and was able to drag he off with no more than a few words of protests, and a quick glare over her shoulder towards the maids left in their wake.

Minori let out a long sigh. "That didn't go as planned. You just had to say she was _kidnapped_. I had it under control."

"Better than lying to her," Jurou argued. "She has connections with the Hitachiins. We don't want to cause any complications between the families. Especially without Master Umehito knowing. I'd hate to even hear what Mr. Nekozawa will say about this."

She looked over to where Kirimi was guiding Haruhi, through a secret pathway along the trees, leading into the garden.

"I didn't do a bad thing, did I?"

"Hidaku sounds possessive if you ask me. Or... whatever his dumb name was."

"I don't like it," she muttered bitterly. "He takes her to and from work. Makes her come home when he says so. I've seen articles of how he treats people. I just... don't like it."

"Then this will be interesting." Jurou folded his arms behind his head, gesturing that they go. "I did promise her that I'd take her back home though."

"We can't do that!"

"Hmm?"

"The whole reason why we're here right now it to keep her away from the Hitachiin's. This is a repeat of what happened to Master Umehito's great aunt. I can't let that happen."

"Well then lets hope Mistress Kirimi can show her enough dead _bugs_ to keep her occupied for 3 days."

She frowned. "...You could at least act serious."

"This is a very serious, Minori. We're talking about murder. That's a lot of dirt to hold over the Nekozawa's heads."

"We just won't tell anyone."

Looking ahead, Jurou watched as she left her side to retreat to the mansion. Yet, the only thing he could notice, was that she wasn't wearing a jacket. Despite all the times he told her to do so.

He had no choice but to loyally follow after her.

She shouldn't have this much power over him. Especially not so much so that he'd commit a crime for her.

Love certainly _was_ strange.

* * *

 **Another filler, but don't fret! This chapter helps conclude the big climax, and I'm so excited! The next chapter will be much longer. But I hope you enjoyed this anyway.**

 **I've suffered a bit of a creativity block, and my laptop has been suffering with it's own issues, so updates have been slow, but I really hope I can get this story finished before New Years.**

 **If anything, I hope everyone has a great Halloween!**

 **Again, thank you to everyone for reading. I also have more information about the future of these characters, but I shouldn't give away too many secrets.**

 **Until next time, my lovelies!**

 **-Kc 10/17/16**


	36. Chapter 36

**Cry Me A Lullaby**

* * *

Between the thick walls of the Nekozawa estate, footsteps echoed easily throughout the empty corridors.

There was an chilling feeling down her spine that she was being watched, or listened to. Every time she thought she heard whispering, she turned her head, only to see that she was still alone.

Though, even if she should be her own top priority, she completely disregarded her concern for her own safety, and only wanted to leave so she knew Hikaru was fine. Counting the days in her head, she knew he probably was fine, but knowing him to be the biggest danger to himself than anyone she had ever seen, she wouldn't put it passed him that he could be doing something potentially dangerous to himself at any given minute.

Hopefully knowing that if he put himself in harms way, it could almost hurt her too, would make him think twice.

Then again, it was Hikaru. He doesn't normally think about a whole lot of things...

"Why is it so dark in here?" Haruhi muttered out loud, even if it was more of a question to herself than anyone else. "They could open the curtains..."

"My big brother shrivels up like a raisin in the sunlight," Kirimi answered, kicking the floor as she walked, with piles of flowers and weeds cradled in her arms. "The only room that's allowed to be lit is the living room, but only when we have guests."

"Ah, yes. That light issue. I forgot."

"Not that he really comes out of his room, anyway," the girl suddenly mentioned, pouting. "Sometimes when I get sick he reads me his fortune-telling cards, but... if you ever want to see him, you have to ask the maids if you can."

"You have to _ask_ to see your brother?"

"He doesn't like to be disturbed when he's working."

Haruhi frowned in thought. She couldn't remember what the Nekozawa's were known for "...What does he do for work?"

Kirimi stopped walking. She glared at the floor, but as nothing came to her, she continued on walking with a shrug. "I'm not sure."

"I think he goes in there to talk to dead people," she whispered. "Like relatives and stuff. Sometimes, when I sit in front of his door, I can hear him talking to himself."

Before Haruhi could even think of a reply to that strange comment, the blonde looked up with a gasp. Her toes curled into the soles of her shoes as she stood on the balls of her sneakers. She spun around, to face the clueless adult beside her, so fast that her long hair brushed against her cheek.

"I want to show you the library!" she said, grinning. "We can read before dinner. It'll be served in a minute."

 _Dinner_? Haruhi's eyes widened at the thought. What time was it? And more importantly, and why hasn't she been given her phone back? It was already well into the evening when she got off work, but how long had she been here? It had to be around six or seven. Unless the Nekozawa's had strange customs and ate at eight o-clock at night.

Hikaru, as pigheaded as he was, was definitely going to give her a mouthful. It was already obvious that he didn't want her being out of his sight as much as she didn't want him to be out of hers.

Although, she was planning on Hikaru taking her from work, to her father's house so she could formally apologize to him, and maybe explain to him why she was at the Hitachiin's so often, so this was no good.

As more horrible thoughts tried to occupy her mind, she squeezed her eyes shut tight and began to follow Kirimi.

Maybe... seeing a bathroom covered in blood was too much, and had emotionally bothered her more than she thought. It was all she could think about. The thought of Hikaru being alone, with his mentally frustrated-self, and the chance of it happening again during another one of his fits, sent a searing spark of anxiety down the back of her neck.

She could ask to borrow a phone, but Hikaru's number was only added to her phone, and she didn't memorize it. She was officially stuck.

Just how long was it going to have to take to get her to see the master so she could go home?

Dragging herself back to reality, she looked around and noticed that she was alone. Kirirmi had wondered off, and most likely babbling too profusely to herself that she didn't notice that she didn't follow her, until something disrupted the peaceful silence.

She didn't know what that strange sound was behind her, but it sounded like a creak to a door. She turned around to face whatever it was, but a hand had come out from around the door frame to the door she was standing beside, and covered her eyes.

Her first instinct was to pull away, but another pair of strong fingers gripped her wrist, and tugged her forward, somewhere into a dark room, were the hand over her eyes made no difference.

Haruhi opened her mouth, to make any noise she could think of, but the sound of a door slamming behind her robbed her of words.

"Don't make a sound," a voice hissed against her ear. " _Move this way_."

The feel of sharp fingernails digging into her skin made it so that she'd rather do anything but to disobey them.

* * *

Where did that blasted thing go?

Mayuki, with her cheek smashed into the floor, looked under her bed. Beneath it, her skin had gathered more dust than the item she had lost was worth. It was obvious it wasn't there, so she rolled over on her back, to glance under the nightstand.

She didn't want to leave the room to look for another one. She didn't want to explain to her mother in-law as to why she didn't go to the spa like she told her to do. She could have gone, she just didn't want to. And one doesn't _defy_ Yazuha, so she couldn't leave the room and get caught.

She'd have to come up with an explanation, and she didn't have one.

Pushing away a box under the small table, to see if maybe it had rolled over the edge, and was left stuck near the trimming of the wall, but instead, there were just small, miscellaneous things she had, at one point in time, shoved under there to hide it.

Deciding that it was a lost cause, Mayuki sat up, and lifted the side of her cheek to her cheek to wipe off the dust.

Maybe she should let the maids come in once in awhile to clean-

The moment she let her shirt fall back down, a twinge of pain spiraled up her back and bit at her temple, causing an ache to linger in ever nerve in her body. She went to rub it, but the pressure from her fingers made it ripple, and spread.

Now she needed to look for something else, something she hid from herself on purpose. Her trembling had nearly threw out the drawer to the nightstand, and threw everything out of it, until she found a orange bottle under a piece of cloth.

But when she shook it, she knew it was empty.

She glared at it, remembering it being a brand new bottle.

Unless someone-

 **Thud-**

"Mayuki!"

From the sound of her husband's voice, she threw the pill bottle across the room (intending to make sure he didn't see it) and whirled her head around so fast the room almost spun all the way around.

He had slammed the door so hard, the knob hit the wall. From all the times he's done that, she was sure he had made a hole by now.

She opened her mouth, to spew out any scolding words she could process, but caught herself as she saw the distraght look on his eyes. His eye's wide, and frightened.

"Kao-"

"Oh, May," one look at her and he collapsed against the doorframe, slumping with a sigh of relief. "Thank god."

Despite him looking so pale, her brow still knitted in a scowl. "What're you doing in here?"

He could only know what was going on behind his eyes as he stared at her. His features relaxed into a softer expression and after a moment, of just staring at her, breathing, he finally stood back up.

"You can be mad at me all you want," he said, under his breath. "I thought something was wrong."

Mayuki sat up, wiping the dust of her cheek. "Well nothings wrong. Now get out, I'm busy."

"...Mom said you left early this morning. She thought you went to make use of her spa membership," he stepped into the room, ignoring her glare. "But the maids said you haven't left this room since yesterday. And the last I saw you was Wednesday. It's been over two days. I felt strange, like you were in pain, and I thought you had-... er, that something happened to you."

"Yeah, I know what you thought," she answered bitterly, "but I'm fine."

She flinched at the sound of his footsteps near the bedpost, so she turned her back to him, glowering at the nob on the nightstand as if it was even worth the strain to her muscles.

"I was scared I was going to find you like I did that day." Kaoru added, looking almost sick as he looked down at her. Color hadn't quite returned yet to his cheeks. "Are you sure nothing's wrong? Why are you on the floor?"

She didn't turn to meet his obviously intense gaze. She rubbed at the last of the dust under her nose, "I said I was busy. I'm looking for something."

Kaoru looked around the room. It was a large bedroom, and yet there was still so much clutter scattered in every corner. He hoped it wasn't anything small. One could lose a small animal, even in the pile of old clothes she never wore anymore on that large chair by the window, (He could tell she'd never wear them again because they were all clothes __he__ had given her).

He was almost scared to ask. "...What're you looking for?"

"A pen."

"...There's lots of pens in the study."

"I don't want those pens."

He frowned, kicking away an empty pill bottle that suddenly rolled out from under the bed as she stuffed something larger under it. He chose to not ask her about that, but only because she had dropped her couarse tone, and he could finally hear the sweet softness of of voice; something he hadn't heard personally in a long time. Even if he could still hear four long years worth of disappointment. And it wasn't from not being able to find her favorite __pen__.

He turned his attention back to her, and a knowing smirk escaped it's way onto his lips, as he caught sight of something sticking out of the bun her hair was curled into. He took another step forward.

Mayuki just then pulled out a small, flimbsy cardboard box from under her bed. Of course her pen wouldn't be in it, she was sure, because she had it just moments before she missplaced it, and it couldn't have gone that far under and over things, but it gave her something to do than to worry about the look her husband was giving her, and to hopefully make him lose interest.

It did neither of those, however. For her heart nearly jumped out of her chest as she felt something warm against her back, with an arm wrapping loosely around her waist.

"K-Kaoru," she gasped.

She felt him pull something out of her bun, and her hair immediately fell into messy, wide curls around her shoulders.

"This pen?" He whispered.

She shivered from his warm breath against her ear, and tried to keep all the heat from going to her face. It took a few moments for her to snap herself out of a daze before she even noticed the appearance of the pen he held it front of her. It was red, and engraved with gold chinese paintings, and a small gold flower crest tangled in a vine around the clip.

Blushing furiously, she cleared her throat and snatched it from him.

It would be a lot less embarrassing if the pen didn't mean anything to her, but of course it had to be the one part of a set he gave her for christmas. And... that she had forgot that she stuck it in her hair so she woudn't lose it.

Fate just always liked to work against her in these cases...

"Yes, well..." she squirmed, against his chest. "You can leave now."

Kaoru sighed, feeling her try to wiggle out of his arms as he laid his chin against her hair. "May... can we talk?"

"No."

"It's about what you said-"

"I'm busy right now," she interrupted him, "so could you get out? You're distracting me and I have things to do tomorrow."

"Aw. Is it so important that you can't tell your loving husband?"

"I could impale this pen into your esophagus."

"Ooh, violence. _Kinky_."

"Not if you bleed on my new rug."

He laughed. "Your humor is almost as bland as Hikaru's."

He snuggled his face up against the back of her neck, and she tensed, her face twisting oddly at the feel of warm lips just grazing the surface of her skin. A strange sensation bubbled in her chest, as if she suddenly had a case of heartburn.

His fingers toyed around the hem of her hoodie as he tried make his presence as less noticeable as possible, thinking that maybe, she had forgotten about the wall between them, so that he could prolong the moment a little longer.

She almost did. His hands were slightly calloused, but soft, his chest was warm, and locked around her in a secure physical reassurance that she wasn't really alone. She was so close to forgetting it, until he relaxed, laid his chin on her shoulder, and sighed.

All the pent up emotions she had been pushing back, once she realized she was stupid for getting comfortable and cutting him some slack, the moment she smelt alcohol on his breath.

Her muscles tensed all over again as she reached for the collar of his shirt. He gasped as she pulled his face forward, having to steady himself on the floor.

He turned just slightly, flustered, to see her face curled in exasperation. "May-"

"When exactly did you have time to _drink_ before you came home?"

"Huh?"

"You're _drunk_." She spat, tossing him back, as if he were disgusting. "Thought that, without a conscience, you could get _cozy_?"

He watched her sit up, with eyes that nearly bulged out of his head. "What? No- I just-"

"And _I'm_ the only one with a problem?" She ignored him as tried to reach for her hand. "When you're drinking again."

"Hold on," he frowned, pricking himself off the floor, "Who said anything about _that_? I only came in here to check on you."

"So there's no reason at all why you smell like your grandfather's wine cellar? at five o-clock in the afternoon."

Even his breathing fell silent. "...Well-"

"You said you weren't going to drink again."

Kaoru looked up, but he shrunk back. She wasn't sparing him of her vexation. She didn't have to say anything. All the betrayal and disappointment was written on her face.

"You're drinking- you promised that wouldn't- after what happened. You said you'd never drink again."

He winced, remembering when he had said that. Just thinking about it, he could hear glass of a windshield shattering. It wasn't a sound you could really forget, intoxicated or not.

"That was a long time ago," he mumbled, annoyed that it was even brought up. "That won't happen again."

"It doesn't bother you that your parents might find out? Or am I the only one you were keeping it a secret from?"

He purposely avoided her gaze. "May, it's not like that."

"You almost died, last time, Kaoru." It would have sounded so sweet to his ear to hear her say that, if her words hadn't come out in a bitter hiss. "You're not just hurting yourself when you decide to act stupid."

"I didn't- That's... _exaggerating_ it," he accused, trying to bite back his tongue. "It was just a light post. I know what I did, and it was a mistake. It won't happen again."

His body stiffened, and his heart felt as though it were trying to beat behind steel walls, that were very so painfully closing in on it. It was crushing his lungs, trying to suffocate him on the inside.

Mayuki stared at him, her lips curling her lips in disgust. "Why didn't you _tell_ me?"

"Because it's none of your _business_."

She froze.

Those words felt like fire passing his lips, and it took a moment before he fully grasped what he had said so coldly, and just stood there, absolutely mortified.

"Mayuki-"

"What you do with your life isn't just _your_ business anymore," she growled. "Not when it involves other people. You were lucky to walk away from that car accident without a scratch, and you want to risk that again, with... _that_." She gestured to him awkwardly.

Kaoru knew he should stop. His conscience was trying to rip through, and grab his attention, to tell him that arguing was _stupid_ , that this whole thing was _stupid_. That walking into that cellar for half an hour because he was exhausted was _stupid_. _You're stupid, Kaoru. Stop talking._

His own words couldn't even get to him, passed the boarder of ill feelings that he had pent up and the alcohol that was protecting it.

"We've both messed up," he said, not able to move a muscle. "You still hide medication in your draws after you overdosed on sleeping pills. Go cry about it to your boyfriend if my issue upsets you so much. While you still think _your_ problem doesn't bother me."

"My _boyfriend_?" she gasped, her face instantly turning an odd shade of red. "You're an idiot. How much did you drink before you decided to bust in here? Just get out."

"You don't have to try and lie about it now. You've already told me," Kaoru tsked, "After the accident, I told you, we didn't have to be married anymore if you didn't want to be, and that you could find someone else. Yet you've been keeping _that_ a secret this whole time. For how long now? Over a year?"

"I don't _have_ a boyfriend."

"You said you were seeing someone."

"Yeah, a _psychiatrist_ , not a _boyfriend_."

And that, was what made every bone in his body freeze to a violent, vicious halt. His heart missing one important beat.

"... _Oh_."

"You thought I was _cheating_?"

"To be fair, ... You just walked away." Kaoru looked away, wishing that his conscience tried harder earlier. The amount of shame was weighting his feet into the carpet. "You never said anything else about it..."

"After you invade my privacy and snoop through my bank account, with all my debit card history, I didn't really feel like saying anything to you. I didn't know you'd think I was having an _affair_!"

Without warning, or further hesitation, she grabbed a pillow that sat on the edge of the bed, and threw it at him.

Her face was twisted in rage, the creases in her nose distracted him from the tears pooling around her eyes, but he wasn't spared as much, having to hear the strain in her voice.

"And did you ever think that I didn't take you up on that offer, because I didn't _want_ anyone else?" She murmured, clenching her jaw to it's breaking point. "I'm starting to think you're the one who regrets getting married."

He couldn't look at her, but when he finally mustered up just enough courage to look her in the eye, while still feeling no more than the dirt under her shoe, she had already turned away from him, and slammed the door behind her when she left.

Kaoru looked down, grimacing as he tightened his fists, just as his finger nails were digging into his palms.

 _Oh god._

With a thrown look towards the door, he took a step forward, to chase after her, to tell her she was wrong, to tell her he was sorry, but as his heel touched the floor, he realized that would be useless. He was wrong. He messed up bad this time, and she didn't want to look at him anymore, forget about even accepting another one of his "meaningless" apologizes.

He didn't _mean_ to get so angry. He didn't mean for any of that to come out.

And it wasn't in his intentions at all to make her _cry_.

* * *

This wasn't the first time she felt vulnerable. There were plenty of situations, especially during the times of the Host Club, where she'd be "kidnapped" and brought to strange tropical domes in the middle of nowhere, or dragged blindfolded through crowded supermarkets.

But being forced down a flight of stairs into a dark basement with a hand muffling any potential screams, was slightly more nerve-wreaking than having an eight million yen debt dangling over her head.

She held her breath, still trying to slow her heartbeat back to normal.

An old woman sat across from her, relaxed into a an old textured chair. She wore a familiar looking black and white uniform, which told her she might be one of the maids. She wasn't making a sound, but the continuous clinking of her spoon as she swirled it around in whatever was in her teacup.

"Well..." Haruhi cleared her throat, clapping her knees as she stood up. "I appreciate the hospitality, but its getting late, I really should be going."

"The woman dropped her spoon onto the silver platter with a loud _clank_. " _Sit_."

Involuntarily, she slowly sat back down. "But I don't want to stay here anymore. I want to go home."

The maid curled her finger delicately around the handle of her cup before bringing it to her lips. "This is your home."

"No, it isn't," Haruhi's voice tensed in defense, until she heard the figure beside her shift cautiously, to grab her arm if she tried to move herself. "I didn't even want to come here. I want to talk to Nekozawa so I can go home. That's... what I was told."

"Where is your home Miss Fujioka? Do you live with the Hitachiin's?"

"And what's it to you? Do you have a problem with them?"

The woman sneered as she placed her cup back down, having not taken a sip. "You haven't heard?"

"Apparently not."

Ignoring her tone, the old maid lunged against her chair, giving the poor brunette a look, one that looked like it couldn't decide whether to look confused or annoyed. "Where is your mark?"

"...My mark?" It took her a moment, before she could even begin to wonder what she was talking about. "Wait- How do you know about that?"

"The Nekozawa's know more about them than they know themselves," The tea in her cup swished off over the rim of the teacup once she sat it down too forcefully. "But you don't have a mark, do you?"

Haruhi's spine tightened. "I think that's a bit personal. Whatever it is, it's between me and Hikaru."

She could sense the old lady was running low on patience, from the way she sighed and stood up from her chair. Her jaw clenched, a few strands of her hair falling loose from her bun, from weaving her fingers through her bangs. She looked peeved.

Of course she was though, half an hour stuck in the dark, and the most recent eligible Nekozawa female was being was stubborn as a mule.

"How long have you been in contact with them?" She asked.

Haruhi turned around, to allow her gaze to follow the woman across the room. "Does it matter?"

"...Because I believe they've been keeping secrets from you."

"How do you know that?"

A knowing smirk spread across her face that the people behind her were oblivious to and neglected that comment completely. She led herself directly to the corner, where her finger traced along the books lined up on the bookshelf, before stopping on one. One that that long before been engraved with 'Nekozawa' so delicately on the old cover.

"You're very important to us, Haruhi." she muttered, as she pulled it out to lay the cover out on her hand. "You don't have to worry. No one is going to hurt you. And after this is over, you can go home, or to wherever you please."

"What am I to you?" Haruhi asked, finding it difficult to keep her eyes on the very tall, almost scary butler behind her, and on the suspicious old lady at the same time. "I thought you were only interested in Hikaru?"

"He is the one you're bounded to, isn't he?"

She waited for Haruhi to correct her, but when she didn't, her stiff finger flip another page of her book.

"I see," she muttered, "So it's like that isn't it?"

"Bounded is a strange word to use," Haruhi grumbled. "It sounds forced."

"We'll be here awhile," she cleared her throat, dodging that comment, "so I don't think you'll mind to hear a story."

"What did he promise you, Haruhi?" their eyes met briefly, as she made her way back to the chair. "What lured you to him? It doesn't quite make sense to me."

"Pure coincidence that I had to be his lawyer. I'm sure everyone in the country knows the rest of our... relations."

"Is he your boyfriend?"

Haruhi nearly chocked on thin air. " _Again_ , I hardly think that's anyone's business. I'd rather not talk about it, please."

"I'll take it that he isn't."

Haruhi looked away, trying to force down an embarrassed frown. "We haven't talked about it."

She stared at her. She knew that look. The crease in her forehead, the clench in her jaw, the dent above her chin as she bit her lip. She didn't have to say a thing. It was written all over her face. It was a cry for help. A cry to let someone know.

"Oh I see," She spoke. Her voice coming out in an unamused chuckle. "You've talked about it, but he hasn't."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Haruhi turned back around, wishing that she had enough courage to just stand up and leave, but the man behind her easily persuaded her to not want think about it, without even opening his mouth. "He-... I haven't talked about anything."

"He doesn't love you."

"And...I don't think I like this _story._ "

"It's alright," Her plain grey eyes looked directly into Haruhi's as she reached over and slid the book across the table. "You're not the first Nekozawa to fall in love with a Hitachiin."

Haruhi sat back, as her brow narrowed so far on her face, that if it moved down any lower it'd block her view. " _What_?"

"Your mother was the only daughter of Master Umehito's grandfather. I suppose that... by certain means, you are his and Miss Kirimi's cousin."

A quiet, airy laugh escaped her lips before she could stop herself. Out of what she said, only one thing mattered. "You knew my mother?"

The woman smirked. At last peaking her interest. "I did not. She died before me or anyone of the Nekozawa family could meet her. Frankly because no one knew she even existed."

"This is a precious family album," she added, gesturing to the book laid out. "That man right there, is your real grandfather."

With a hesitant shift to the edge of the couch, Haruhi peered at the book. "...But-"

"This is why you were brought here," she said. "The family has suffered a great deal because of the things the Hitachiin's have done. And you should know, they're the reason why your mother's dead."

Those few little words were what dug to the very back of her mind, fishing out what she had already forgotten. Something so silly, and insignificant that she didn't think it mattered until just now, now that she's heard it again.

 _"He killed your mother, Haruhi."_

It was her dream...

And her thoughts drug themselves back, back to when she woke up with his face looking down at her. She could barely move then, from the strength of his arms. The hurt in his eyes and the softness of his voice as he asked her if she was awake was something that made her chest swell. No matter how cold and eerie the basement was, it made her feel so warm.

"My mother got sick," She finally answered. "If you only dragged me down here to tell me that, I already _knew_. The Hitachiin's haven't done anything to me, to her, or anyone else I know. They've treated me like family from the day I met them, and I am not in the mood to listen to you disrespect their name."

"Your mother died of an illness the Hitachiin's caused," The maid hissed back, her tone stopping Haruhi just as she was about to stand. "They're using you. They've brainwashed you to the point you victimize them."

"Too many people suffered because of the things they've done," she continued, nearly knocking over her cup as she threw her hand towards the album. "They're the reason Miss Kirimi has a weak ammune system and can't go outside. They're the reason no one in this house has a _mother_."

"It's not their fault," Haruhi snapped, standing up so fast she kicked the table, finally spilling over all the dainty little cups of tea. "You can't help if someone gets sick. And with all due respect, I'd rather you not speak about my mother, and leave her out of this."

She turned to leave, having enough, but she was stopped, by a large hand clamping down onto her shoulder. She looked up, and her eyes met with the butler's stiff expression.

He was glaring at her, with his hand tightening around her arm so wrongly it made her gasp, and her knees awkwardly buckled beneath her until she was slammed back down onto the couch.

The old maid stood up, straight face and all, with her hand sneaking away, deep into her skirt pocket. "I'm beginning to think they made a mistake. You don't seem to know anything about anyone."

Haruhi jerked away from the man's touch, now feeling so small and vulnerable. "Whatever you think they've done, I have nothing to do with it." Her voice fought hard to pose the opposite of how she felt. "The Hitachiin's are lot of things, but they're not murders. They've never hurt anyone."

"Oh sweet child, that's where you're wrong."

While her hand slipped out of her pocket, the maid made sure she was looking, the moment she pulled the knife.

Haruhi gasped, watching a sparkle of light bounce from the chandelier off the metal of the pocket knife. Her heart jumped and almost lost all slight of vision as panic raised in her system. There was something in the old woman's eyes that told her something was horrible wrong.

"No," she breathed, her knees trembling as she tried to stand again. "I'm _leaving_. I-"

She cut herself off as the butler's hand on her shoulder moved to her arms, already turning her hand a frightening shade of pink. Haruhi tried to tear away from him, but as she lacked in physical strength, she could barely move.

She cried out as he suddenly forced her arm over the table, pinning her to the glass. "No- _s-stop_. Let go!"

"Hold still, please."

Haruhi struggled, trembling as she felt the man's hands dig both into her shoulder and her hand. "Stop it! I don't want-"

"If you don't stop squirming you'll lose a hand," the maid growled, slapping her palm against her hand, barely pressing the tip of the blade just below her wrist. "You know what kind of conflict this meeting would cause the Nekozawa family if we held just anyone here, from the Hitachiin house?" That's be murder over Master Umehito's head. After four years of peace, it wouldn't be forgiven. I have to prove that my under-links weren't lying when they brought you here. That's you're apart of them."

"I'm not! This is the first time I've ever heard of this until now. I'm not a Nekozawa. You've got me confused with someone else, I'm just- ahh!" Haruhi voice shook with the vibrations of her heart, as it shook her entire body. The knife pieced her skin, and drug along in a perfect line. She felt every nerve go numb. For a moment, she couldn't feel pain. Just the cold blood that had started to run down her arm.

The hands that were holding her down lost their vice grasp on her body, and she didn't wait a second before ripping way from them. Her heart had started to pound, from her panic, and tried to hurriedly replace the blood from her sliced blood vein.

Her brain was still in shock while her body moved without it's permission. She was transfixed by the blood on her own hand that she hadn't seen the table leg sticking out behind her.

She squealed as she tripped, and her back hit the floor with an painful thud.

Haruhi stared at the ceiling, any words she was planning to say came out in a breathless gasp. She brought her arm to her chest as the pain set in, in a scale of heat, burning as deep as the knife had gone.

She hissed, feeling a gust of cold air against her cut as the door above the staircase flung open. She was nearly blinded by a rectangle of faint light, a figure flailing, and someone screaming. She tried to make out the voice, but her mind was already growing hazy.

She forgot she was a bleeder...

"Miss Miako!" a short pudgy maid almost tumbled down the stairs as she ran too fast, her face beet red. "He's _here_. I tried to stop him- He's anger and broke everything he could touch, I tried to tell the Young Master but he refused to open his door he's coming right down here to- _Kyeaa_!" It seemed as though her mouth was moving too fast for her brain to make it make sense, and before it could, a hand roughly shoved her to the side.

The woman, (Haruhi guessed to be, Miako) tore her wide eyes away from the blood that had splattered the table from the knife that had fallen through her fingers. Her hair well past falling from her neatly tucked bun.

There he stood, tall and dark, his fiery auburn hair tousled, and his neat dress shirt, untucked from his belt. His bronze eyes... glistening with the anger already bestowed in his entire expression.

"You!" She spat. Her eyes dripping with hatred, as his footsteps echoed against the narrow stairs. "You can't be here. This Nekozawa property!"

Hikaru ignored the tiny maid's hands as she tried to block him from going any further, but he brushed her aside again, as if she was as flimsy as a curtain.

"As if I hadn't _noticed_." He retorted. "Your hostility didn't make me think twice that I wasn't invited."

"The treaty- Y-you're not allowed here," she sputtered, "If Master Umehito finds out you're here we'll make sure it's burned. It's violation!"

Hikaru glared, his face finally coming into her view as he stepped off the last step. "You violated that treaty when you stole something from me."

He could hear the girl behind him run back up the stairs, calling out someone's name. He turned back to the maid, just in time to see her gesturing to something on the floor, telling her peer to "get" something up, and to keep it away from him.

As he looked across the room, where a very tall man, who's suit looked to be a size too small for him, was going to, a hot sensation projected from his core, into his veins, scorching his body until he was almost blind.

He wasn't expecting that bloody mess to be, Haruhi.


	37. Chapter 37

**You Were Everything**

* * *

 _In a world where we should be feared, and denied the happiness we all want to have, life has a funny way of providing it to us anyway. It's given to us in such strange forms, we barely recognize what it's supposed to mean, before it's taken away._

 _Is this... what Fumiko wanted? Is this her idea of torture?_

 _The virus robs our immunity to the cruelness of this place. It tears us down until we can't feel a thing._

 _By some chance we find love, compassion, we're whole again. Like every human being needs. But like the humans we aren't, the differences in us, that love is taken away._

 _And what better punishment is there, than the very thing that destroyed her?_

 _To be born, fated to grow bitter._

 _To find love and be loved._

 _Then to have it so viciously ripped away._

 _That is what Aritomo did, and his very decedents will feel the results of his mistakes._

 _We, the Hitachiiin's, are effected at birth, with a fatal virus in our bloodstream. It protects us from internal complications, until enough time has passed where we've had our share of life experiences, so it can rightfully kill us itself._

 _The Nekozawa's, genetically poisoned by their ancestor's bitterness. It lives in the males, as a reminder of where they came from, and after a fair amount of years, kills the women after they've had their share of heartache._

 _Because no one shall go unpunished._

 _Is this what she meant? Is this what she asked for?_

 _Or was this all an accident?_

* * *

" _Haruhi_!"

Hikaru barely shuffled a step forward, when a hand grabbed his shoulder, halting him where he stood.

He looked behind him to see the butler's dark solemn eyes, so desolate he could see his blurred reflection.

"Get out of my way," he hissed.

"You're not supposed to be here." The man finally spoke . "To protect the family, we can't let you leave."

Hikaru snarled, slapping his arm away. "You didn't have to involve _her._ She has nothing to do with this."

The butler growled, but before he could continue, Miako quickly intervened, moving from where she was, to stand above Haruhi, ignoring the brunette as she mumbled in a weak breath, something that went completely neglected.

"She doesn't belong to you," the women said, "She never did. She's just as apart of this as anyone else is and you-"

" _Move_." Hikaru demanded, with his path being blocked again. "What did you say to her?"

"Everything you wouldn't." She tsked. "You knew too, didn't you? You used the poor girl's ignorance for your advantage. She had no idea why you picked _her_."

"It's none of your damned business," Hikaru tried to sidestep her, but she copied him. "She only knows what she needs to. You're not a Nekozawa, you're just their _employee_ , so quit interfering."

Haruhi turned, laying her cheek against the soft rug. The pain eased to a distant burn, leaving a tingling feeling in her fingers. She looked up, catching a hazy glimpse of auburn eyes. His voice was laced with concern, and so much anger, but was so quiet, she could barely understand what it was that he was saying and what made him so upset.

"Haruhi, come on. Get up." He said gently, before glaring at the woman. " _We're leaving_."

"You can't take her anywhere, she doesn't belong to you." Miako growled. "I can't allow another Hitachiin to treat someone like an object. You're just like your ancestors. _Manipulating_."

"I don't take responsibility for my relatives, and you involving _Haruhi_ has nothing to do with them." He tried to step aside again, but just as before, she got in his way, almost stepping on his foot, trapping him against the banister. "I'm sick and tired of you people acting as though you have to protect them. It's _disgusting._ Now get out of my way _."_

Hikaru raised his arm to shove her away, but before he could touch her, his hand was jerked back, causing him to stumble backwards into someone's chest.

He whirled around, glaring. Frustration was getting the best of him, and he raised his fist, to knock whoever it was, away. Until he saw that it was the butler, and saw how much taller he really was compared to him.

" _Leave_ , Hitachiin." Miako spoke between her teeth. "I don't want to cause the Nekozawa's grief, but it wouldn't be any problem sweeping a death under the rug, so don't _tempt_ me. I... I can't watch anymore of them get hurt because you're _blood-thirsty_."

Haruhi rolled onto her back, hearing his voice ring out clear. She pressed her hand to the floor, and tried to push herself up, but her chest had grown heavy, as if there were a pile of bricks holding her down, and found that she could barely lift her head off the floor.

Her slight movement sent a ripple of haze across her vision that sent her surroundings spinning. She had to squeeze her eyes shut before it all made her sick.

Maybe if she went to sleep... just for a moment.

"So it _is_ just like I thought," there was a special kind of anger hidden behind Hikaru's sneer as he turned away from the butler. "You kidnap someone just because they're involved with us. It'd be easy to get rid of us without much of a mess if you kept them long enough."

"And as much as I'd like to _sweep this under the rug_ ," he mocked, and swept his eyes passed her, to Haruhi, who had grown far too quiet. "I won't forgive you for hurting, Haruhi."

"You don't care about her," Miako argued. "You only care about yourself. How did you even know she was here? Programmed a tracking device into her cellphone?"

"If I have to deal with this kind of crap, I might just have to." With a airily grumble, He stuck his hand into his pocket, and pulled out a cold piece of metal. "If you didn't want me to come, you shouldn't have had made a mess, and took my stuff."

He let the silver cufflink fall from his hand. It fell to the floor with a _clink_. It rolled across the floorboards until it ran over a crack and fell over stopping at the toe of her shoe, revealing the bent Nekozawa crest welded in the middle.

"Matches the ones your gorilla friend here is wearing."

She stared down at it, clenching her fist. _"Damn, Jurou_." She hissed.

He didn't waste a second longer before pushing her aside while her attention was elsewhere. The butler still seemed a bit hurt by the 'gorilla' comment and didn't even bother to stop him, and just stood there, wondering on earth it was about him that gave off the impression of an animal.

As he caught sight of the table that had been hiding behind the old woman's back, Hikaru's heart dropped to the pit of his stomach. The edge of the table was stained black, and as he took a step forward, an open pocket knife shifted beside his foot. The silver blade was lined with the same. With blood.

With turn he immediately dropped to his knees, grateful she wasn't much further away. He wasn't sure he could've lasted much longer.

He grabbed her hand that was draped over her chest, entwining their fingers until their knuckles whitened. His fingers continued to squeeze until he saw the slightest twitch in her brow.

"This is what happens when you don't listen to me," he said, in almost a whisper, so the whole room couldn't hear his voice, practically dripping with his loose feelings. "And after this adventure- never leave my sight again."

Haruhi opened her eyes. After blinking once, twice, and a third time to be sure he wasn't a hallucination, she frowned. "Hika-"

"Shhh," he silenced her, pressing a finger to her lips, trying to brush away her bangs with his other hand. "It's okay, don't move... You just keep putting yourself in bad situations. I can't protect you from everything if you're going to make friends with strangers."

She winced as his hand brushed against her cheek. His warm fingers felt so nice against her clod skin that she leaned into his warmth. She barely opened her eyes to his silence, only to se him staring at her arm, carefully cradled under her chest.

"...This wasn't intentional." She pouted.

His brow curled into a knot, feeling her flinch under his hand as his finger traced along her open palm. "...You're bleeding."

Before she could comment something snarky about his stating the obvious, his hand slipped through her hair and she was pulled up off the floor. Her nose getting smooshed against his chest.

He stood up, his arms tight around her shoulders. "Come on, you don't belong here. We're going home."

Haruhi felt like dead weight as she leaned against him. "I don't... even know where home is anymore."

Hikaru turned to Miako, who had her fist clenched around her shirt, glowering at him through the slits that were her eyes. The wrinkles in her forehead faltered, as she looked at the two of them, standing so unbearably close.

"Anywhere but _here_." He tsked.

He was disgusted. Not only because _his_ Haruhi had gotten wrapped up in his family's mess, or that the Nekozawa's had the audacity to use her to get to him, but the very idea of setting foot anywhere near them, or where they lived. The idea of him breathing in the same air they breathed... it was disgusting. The whole situation made his spine tingle. He curled his own fists to keep his hands from shaking.

"You can't," Miako moved in front of them, her dark eyes blaring like tiny wildfires. "I swore to Master Aki that I'd do anything to protect his family. I can't let you take her away and keep her for your convenience."

Hikaru rolled his eyes before looking down at Haruhi, silently asking for her to explain whatever it was this crazy old lady was saying, but her attention was averted elsewhere. She barely looked like she was in her right mind at all.

He gave one last judgmental look towards the woman and her pet gorilla before easily slipping his arms under Haruhi's legs, generating a raw gasp from her lips as she panicked and clamped her arms around his neck.

"I don't know what you're talking about, or what century you're stuck in, but we stopped _using_ people a long time ago," Hikaru concluded, barely noticing the extra weight as he turned to the stairs. "Don't forget that whatever kind of crap you pull, we're holding your precious _Nekozawa's_ responsible."

"If you're so adamant about punishing them, then put her down," The butler had to hurry and hold Miako back by her arms before she could lunge over to them, her fingers like claws against his arms. "She's just like the rest of them. And you'll throw her away like _garbage_ when you find someone else! If you haven't already."

Hikaru turned his cheek. "I couldn't care less of who she is or where she came from. That's not why she's here and you know it."

He barely moved a muscle before Miako ripped herself from her companion's grasp, and planted herself by the stairs, completely draping herself in front of the only exit.

"I said _get out of my way_."

"She's belongs here, this is her family," she said, almost shouting, "and everyone here _knows_ you only want her for her blood. That's all you Hitachiin's have ever wanted from them."

"I already said I don't know what you're talking about, now _move!"_

" _No_!"

His face was growing red from and his jaw ached from suppressing his frustration. There was no way, for his dignity's sake that he'd let anyone here get the best of him, but that was proving to be more and more difficult the longer he wasn't getting his way.

"You can stand there and lie for as long as you want, the only reason you picked her was because she's a _Nekozawa_."

Haruhi felt him tense, and hold her even tighter once she let those words fall from her lips so cruelly. She looked up, and saw his face so littered with shock that she shrunk back, wanting to hide between his arms.

She bit her lip. "H-Hikaru, I-"

Miako sneered, thinking that she had finally caught onto his act. "I know what you've been trying to pull. You didn't learn from your ancestor's mistake and thought The Neozawa's could actually help you. You only came to bring her back because you bit her and are now stuck with her."

His chest was swelled from the tightening in his throat, as if the air was starting to suffocate him. He couldn't control the amount of anger generated towards the girl in his arms he wasn't sure what to do with it all, and subconsciously, his hands curled around her, in a cold, vice grip.

"Y-You're wrong." He stated through his teeth.

"Am I?" Miako muttered. "You, like all your relatives thought the Nekozawa's were the cure for this damn curse? That if a Hitachiin and A Nekozawa fell in love everything would go back to normal? If that were the case, it would've been changed a long time ago!"

" _Stop it_." He demanded.

"Don't you have any idea how many of them suffered because of that myth? How many of your family members manipulated and tortured the Nekozawa's like they were no better than dirt? Just so they'd learn to love them. Miss Amizuka suffered the worse, and do you know how she was treated once she died? Keisuke just disposed of her, and lied to her parents and said she _drowned_. When he really just left her in that basement until she died from _their_ illness. He _murdered_ her."

Haruhi closed her eyes, not wanting to hear anymore.

"You're just another one of them living in _denial!"_

" _Shut up_!"

Before either of them could continue, the door above the staircase was throw open, bringing a new light into the dark stuffy room. Haruhi turned away, not wanting to have anymore part in this fiasco than she already had, but Hikaru turned directly to the door, now having a new target to vent his anger on.

Until he realized that it was the skinny little maid he had fought with earlier. Then he groaned.

"Right there!" She said, pointing a finger at Hikaru. "I told you. I heard stories but I didn't think they were actually _real_. "

Behind her, was a much taller figure shrouded in black. As his slow footsteps descended down the steps, his hood slipped off his bright blonde hair and blue eyes. Not a single crease disrupted his calm, emotionless face.

Haruhi felt Hikaru tense again, and she tried to wiggled out of his arms, to tell him that she was fine, but his arms squeezed firmly around her shoulders.

"Mr. Hitachiin," Umehito said, through a deep breath. "I don't remember issuing your family any form of an invitation."

"You didn't have to," Hikaru answered, almost spitting. "We're leaving when you call off your dogs."

"And here I thought that there was a little piece of paper that said no one from either of our families are supposed to step foot on the other's property?"

"I know full well what it says. Is this your idea of sneaking over the line?"

Umehito looked down at the girl in his arms. "Ah yes... I do apologize for this."

Hikaru glared. "You think that fixes everything?"

"I wasn't talking to _you,_ " he rolled his eyes. "Fujioka, I wasn't aware of this. I really do apologize for my staff. I'll have someone from upstairs treat you to whatever you need."

"That won't be necessary," Hikaru grouched.

"Thanks, Nekozawa," Haruhi discarding her current "hammock" completely. "Uh... sorry about all this..."

"Nonsense. Although... you have cause quite a commotion in this household the last couple of days."

"Oh..."

Hikaru looked down at Haruhi, his face curled in so many creases in his expression from being ignored that he was tempted just to drop her.

Umehito barely turned an inch to look Miako. His eyes were calm, but his tone was cold. "Miss Hamasaki, I didn't request that you bring her here. In fact, I specifically said it was none of my concern, nor did I care."

Miako turned away. "But- but sir, she's-"

"I _know_ what she is," he said, tracing his eyes back to Haruhi, still rightfully perched in Hikaru's arms. "And that's _her_ problem, not _mine_."

* * *

The moment two, and very unhappy looking, maids opened the front doors for them (before crudely slamming them shut), they stepped onto the wide open porch, and Hikaru, without a second thought, let Haruhi slipped from his arms, so suddenly that she stumbled and almost fell backwards.

What was this feeling? Why does my chest hurt so much?

Was it betrayal?

Then again, he should have known. He shouldn't have been _so_ stupid.

So stupid to open up to an _outsider_.

Looking down at her dirty clothes, Haruhi held her left arm against her. The pain stung, but she had seen worse, so she tried to bite it back.

She looked to her side, but before she could say a thing, Hikaru clamped his hand around her good wrist and tugged her along, practically dragging her down the steps.

"Hika-" She grunted, trying to pull away, but his fingers barely loosened, and the look on his face told her he wasn't about to. "Hey, wait, I don't know what I did, but... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to leave."

He held her hand tighter, pulling her across the neatly paved sidewalk. Only his jaw twitched in response.

"Hikaru, _quit._ If you're mad at me-"

"I'm not _mad_."

Remembering his strained expression from earlier, now upset he was, her face softened, trying to at least understand. "...I didn't _know_."

He stopped immediately, and turned to her. "Bullshit you didn't know." One look at her fake, shocked, innocence face and he threw her hand away from him. "Don't pretend to care anymore. I'm not an idiot. That's why you were my lawyer in the first place. You saw the opportunity and begged for the job, didn't you?"

Haruhi stepped back. "What're you talking about-?"

"That's why you haven't told me yet that you're not even my lawyer anymore. You were keeping it a secret so I'd still have to be around you until I gave you the virus." He hesitated, his face twisting in pain. Not realizing how much the words hurt until he said them out loud. They didn't make sense in his head but... "And you came here... abandoned _us_."

Haruhi blinked, trying to read his face, which said more things than his mouth did. Maybe somewhere in his mind he wasn't twisting things around to cater to him. Maybe in his mind, he wasn't thinking what she thought he was.

"Hikaru," she tried to reach for him. "I Never knew I was related to them until now. And I got _fired_ from the position, things just kept coming up, I meant to tell you-"

"Now I know why you were so desperate to get close to me, why you never left me alone. You _knew_ about me all along, and you used that attorney's position as an excuse." Hikaru stopped, looking at her in pure disgust. "That's what you meant by making me _happy_. You wanted me on your side"

"What? No! That's not-"

"Why should I believe you? you're _here_." He threw his arm towards the mansion behind them. "It's true isn't it? What she said? That you're one of them."

"Well..." she paused, biting her cheek. "No... I don't know. Maybe, but I-"

"I always thought it was weird that you were so understanding. That you didn't care about the virus... It's because you already knew."

Haruhi tried to answer with something more logical, but anything that came to mind just didn't make sense to say to him. His pupils were wide, his jaw was tensing so much that she was sure it hurt, and he just looked so genuinely upset that she couldn't say anything to him. She didn't know what _to_ say.

Anything would work. Anything that would get him to stop looking at that way.

She opened her mouth, to apologize for everything, even if she didn't know what she was apologizing for, but he beat her to it.

"I don't know what I'm supposed to think now..." he admitted, his tone tearing through her heart.

There was a deep, profound darkness in his eyes, and she wanted it to go away. She wanted the Hikaru who only yelled when he was embarrassed, she was never afraid of him, but this Hikaru... This Hikaru was scary.

"Hikaru..." she reached for his hand. "I promise, I didn't know about any of this. I never wanted to _hurt_ you."

" _Stop_ ," her hand barely brushed against his fingers before he ripped himself away. "You're always pretending to feel sorry for me, and it pisses me off."

"I never pretended," she gasped. " It's because I can't help it. Every time I look at you, I remember what's wrong with you, and it bothers me. You don't understand why because you don't care. You never cared about yourself and I only wanted to..." she grimaced, trailing off.

"I never what? Was it because you thought I was vulnerable? You figured I didn't care what happened to me so you thought it was okay? The virus doesn't affect _you_ , so why the hell not? And then you _left_."

"No! I didn't leave. They came while I was waiting for you. I didn't know they were lying, I thought they worked for you so I-"

"That's why you're so close to Kaoru... Once I was gone you were going to do the same thing to him. He already likes you anyway. Then you'd get up and leave, and act like it was an accident. Did they tell you to do it, or did you figure this all out on your own and got the Nekozawa's to play along?"

Haruhi stared at him, completely mortified. "W-what does this have to do with Kaoru? You think I've been trying to seduce you both and leave? You're the only one I've ever... you know..."

He raised his brow. " _Do I_?"

"I've ever... done things with, that I..." then she stopped, mid-sentence. "Why should I have to explain anything to you? You've never cared."

"Then why did you _stay_?"

She scoffed. "What?"

"I meant, why did you stay with me...?"

" _What_? What does this even have to do with _that_?"

"Why are you here? The virus doesn't affect you so why didn't you leave unless you had other reasons? Everyone would leave if they could, but they stay with us because they have to. Mayuki would leave but she _can't_ , so why did _you_ stay?"

The sun had long ago set while they were inside. It had grown so dark, the sky was almost pitch black. The many lights from the garden, and the lights off the porch, gave them just enough light for their shadows, but the lack of sun brought a chill that was almost as cold as Hikaru's tone.

It made her shiver, but when she looked up from the ground, to answer him and to tell him how god damn wrong he was, she saw his brow furrowed tightly, and his once bright, firey eyes were now hazy, and garden lamp post, above them, shown and she saw that they were sparkling, with fresh, warm tears.

Was he yelling because he was mad?

Or was he raising his voice to fight back the strain in his throat, while trying to not cry?

"Hikaru..." she sighed, taking a step forward. "How many time do I have to explain it before you finally understand?"

He took a step back as he noticed that she was getting closer. He was shaking, but from so many more things than just the cold breeze that he didn't trust himself to even talk anymore.

"How can I believe anything you say anymore?" He answered, looking at her arm she still held against her shirt. "She made it sound like it was all our fault, and you didn't say _anything_."

"It's not because I agreed with her."

"So why are you with me?"

Haruhi groaned, throwing her head back.. "Because I like you. That's the only reason I'm even apart of all this. Maybe I'd still have my learners position, and still be your lawyer if I didn't. But you know what? It never really bothered me that I wasn't, because I had you. I could have quit, and followed the rules like I was supposed to, but I catered to you. I put you above all my priorities that I would have given up anything for, but you're right, I did feel sorry for you. You don't understand what it feels like to lose someone close to you, and you'd take death with a grain of salt, and get upset with anyone who tries to protect you, and take care of you."

"I would have left after I got fired, and deep down I know I should have," she continued, "But I didn't because I'm in love with you. For _gods sakes_ , Hikaru, just because you don't love yourself doesn't mean other people can't."

Hikaru's eye's were glued wide open. He wasn't expecting to be yelled back at. Never was he actually _yelled_ at. It was one of those bittersweet moments when she would. She was the only one who would ever yell a him, and every single time she did, he always took her side. It was the stubborn part of his brain that refused to.

 _Ba-dum-_

His heart ached. There was a deep gut-wrenching feeling that told him just drop it. The discouraged look on her face, red, tightened hidden with tears, made him want to hold her, but still... there was _that_. That vile, bugging fact that... sickened him to the core.

 _She's a Nekozawa, she's different than you._

"Then..." he looked away, "why can't I believe you?"

* * *

It was ten at night by the time Haruhi managed to reach her apartment, just listening to the sound of her taxi driving away.

She opened her briefcase, which she had to go back and ask the Nekozawa's for, and stuck her key into the lock, holding the doorknob a little too tightly as she opened the door.

 _That's all he had to say?_

 _I don't believe you?_

She dropped her key, and in the doorway, threw her bag and her jacket in the messy corner, not caring where it landed. Her clothes were a mess, and needed to be washed before anyone saw, her hair was tangled, and her arm hurt. One long steamy bath was in order before she'd go to bed, and hopefully, forget that today ever happened.

 _"Why can't I believe you?"_

 _Her arms shook, as her fingers held the wrinkled hem of her blazer. "I don't know, why can't you? Hikaru, I tried. I tried everything, but you just don't care."_

 _"It's because you're one of them... I-I just can't- Haruhi, you don't get it."_

 _"Help me understand. You said it didn't matter who I was or where I came from so why does it bother you now?"_

 _"I didn't think you were a Nekozawa!"_

Haruhi sighed as she dropped her phone and keys onto the tray.

She remembered the look on his face, as she walked passed him. He had reached for her arm, but she had shrugged him away, claiming that she was calling a cab.

Nothing else was said between the two of them, and she didn't even know it had have made it home or not. What difference does it make? she didn't care anyway... or, she kept telling herself that.

At least now she could be alone.

She stepped up into the short hall, staring into the living room, where there was large cardboard boxes stacked into the corners that she had never seen before. They'd be nothing to her except that she could see the a particular signature logo printed on every single one of them.

Haruhi shook her head and was about to walk passed to get to her bedroom, but she hadn't seen her father sitting there, with a teacup cradled in his hands, and she didn't hear him until he cleared his throat, so exaggeratedly, that she couldn't help but feel that it was on purpose.

"...Dad," she whispered. "I... thought you'd be at work."

"Hmm?" Ranka turned, with the teacup against his lips. "Oh, Haruhi, that's right... I forgot you live here."

"...I know, I didn't call."

"That's a bit of an understatement, don't you think? you weren't gone for a day. I haven't seen you all week." He huffed. "You leave for Karuizawa, and didn't come back."

"I know... I'm sorry."

He finally turned to her, ad when he did, he was so shocked that he almost dropped his cup. "Haruhi! Is that blood?"

She sighed, looking down at her blouse. "Uh... yeah, I'm... going to clean up. Sorry."

"Wait, a minute! What's happened?"

"It's nothing, dad, I'll uh... I'll explain later."

Ranka sat at the table, surrounded by his recent Hitachiin merchandise, with his cup barely dangling from his fingertips, and watched as Haruhi passed him.


	38. Chapter 38

**Souls Entwined**

* * *

She had never believed in magic before...

This was also confusing, and it was all beginning to pile up, so much that her brain refused to comprehend it, and merely just accept it. She gave up. She no longer wanted to question the unexplainable. The only thing left to do was to go along with it.

That's what she did for Hikaru. She gave up trying to understand him, and just thought loving him was enough. It was what she thought _he_ needed.

But finding out about a genetic illness that was caused by some sort of horrible black magic, and was progressively starting to kill her, was what blew it all out of proportion.

 _There's no way to fix this...?_

Every slow footstep she took, a pile of leaves crunched under her shoes. Her body felt heavier than normal, as her chest was so clouded up with such ill emotions, it was as if she was carrying a ton of bricks.

 _My head hurts..._

Her loud, pitiful sigh seemed to echo off every headstone she passed, as she couldn't seem to get away from the sound. Or maybe... she was sighing more than once. Every bit of her mind was opening up new doors to a new horrible thought, and it was pulling her away from reality, so much that she couldn't remember what it was she was worrying about _first._

At last she stopped, just in front of a well kept, tall, boxed off headstone at the end of the row. The one she always found herself wandering to. It was almost an instinct.

Her eyes dropped sadly, as she found she was being watched by another pair of auburn, puffy red eyes.

"So this is where you ran off to... you said you were going to work."

Ryoji shrugged, an silently scooted across the small pavement block. "And you said you were going to take a nap."

Haruhi scoffed, dropping her shoulders. "I couldn't sleep."

"And I couldn't concentrate on work."

"...I bet you didn't even try."

He didn't reply, and only scooched a little more to make room, and quietly patted the spot on the step next to him. He didn't remove him hand until she let out a long, defeated breath and collapsed down, right behind him.

She wiped the back of her hand under her nose before breathing into her palms. It wasn't until she had stopped moving that she realized she should have brought her gloves.

"Dad," she hesitated, chewing a hole in her lips as she stared at the cracked cement. "...I'm sorry."

He turned to her immediately. Already with a disproving scowl.

After Haruhi has explain to him about what happened at the Nekozawa's mansion, he had left with the excuse that he was called in to work to take over a shift. Maybe it was because she couldn't look him in the eye, because she was so ashamed, but she knew she couldn't push them _all_ away.

Not when her father would be all alone.

That thought made her sick to her stomach.

"It's not your fault, Haruhi," he said, in a tone that made her feel as if she were being reprimanded. "I... I guess I'm stupid for not suspecting something like this sooner."

His hand slipped through her hair, pulling her close for her to lay her head on his shoulder.

"I always thought you were different, but I never once thought that it was because... what your mother had was _genetic_." He sighed deeply. "You didn't seem that different to me."

She snuggled her cold nose into the loop of his hoodie. "Didn't seem that way to me either..."

Ryoji frowned, using his other hand to pinch his nose, trying to tighten his eyes before he'd start crying again. He'd like to be the bigger man; comfort and support his daughter when it was most likely affecting her the most, but he didn't know how.

This was just a repeat of the same kind of heartbreak. With his wife, and all those days he spent at her bedside, he knew, in the back of his mind, she'd get better. Even if she didn't.

Though, now Haruhi, he didn't feel as if there was much hope to hold onto, and that made it all the more heartbreaking. The relief of finally knowing what took his precious wife's life, was ripped away and now only hurt him. Because now it felt so real. Because now he knew that there was nothing he could do about it.

Was this it? 8 more measly years and it's over? Maybe after 20 years, they could have found a cure? Maybe they could try? Maybe she could get help and-

"Dad...?"

Ryoji opened his eyes, and looked down at her, meeting her wide, solemn eyes. "Haruhi..."

"Do you think... I should apologize to him?"

He scoffed, wrapping his arm around her more firmly. "You're still worrying about _him_? What has he done that makes you think he deserves an apology? Didn't he leave you in the middle of nowhere?"

"It wasn't in the middle no nowhere. And I was the one who wanted to all a cab."

"As a good, self-respected man, whom you've been living with for the past week, wouldn't have let you call one in the first place and would have insisted he take you back in his own car instead." He argued. "Therefore-"

"I get it," she grumbled, unwrapped his arm from her shoulder. "But I need to talk to him. He was upset because... he thinks I lied to him."

His silence that took over him made her turn. He had his brow creased, staring at her as if he was looking for something he knew she was hiding. The weight of his glare made her fidget, and she tried to move further away.

"What?" she finally caved.

"You like him."

"Dad-"

"You do, don't you? He's more than a former client isn't he?" Ryoji pried. "That's why you let him get away with everything. If he's hurt you, you don't have to use his situation as an excuse. He's probably lived that way for a long time, which is why he thinks it's okay."

"well..." she paused, "It's not like that-"

"Have you told him?"

"That he's a spoiled brat? A few times."

"That you have feelings for him?"

" _Dad!_ "

He leaned his head back against the stone behind him, frowning at the crowded grey clouds, seeing her face flush from the corner of his eye. "I know you're not a little kid anymore and it's none of my business, but... what exactly did you do during that romantic getaway in Karuizawa?"

Haruhi cleared her throat loudly, and dusted off her pants as she stood up. "Yes, you're right. That's none of you're business." She said. "And just so you know, it was neither a getaway, nor was it romantic. I'm surprised I didn't come back with a cold-"

She stopped herself, remembering the day she woke up in Hikaru's arms, internally chilled, and feeling as though she were on the brink of death.

"Then..." Ryoji shifted on the stone block to look at his wife's name. "Why do you think you should make it up to him? What has he done to make you like him so much?"

She shrugged, avoiding his eyes. "You're not going to tell me that I've barely known him and that I have no idea what love is? Because you're probably right."

"It's not my place to say that," he sighed. "Not when I personally believe in 'love at first sight', but I want to know, whether it's love you feel for him or... if it's adoration?"

Haruhi blinked, hearing the leaves crunch under her feet as she spun around to glare at him. "Adoration...?"

He stood up, brushing off the debris off the stone, before casually laying down a small bundle of orchids.

"Do you like him for the kind of person he is? Or is it because he reminds you of your mother?"

Haruhi was about to answer, but was distracted by a single drop of snow that landed and slid down her cheek.

She didn't want to reply. She'd rather stay silent than to agree with him.

* * *

He had felt sick before. He had felt sick more times than not. He had felt so sick, every nerve in his body ached.

But he had never felt like this before.

Who in their right mind allowed heartbreaks to _hurt_ so bad?

Why was he allowing _his_ to hurt this much? He thought he couldn't feel any worse than he did when he pushed Ren away, but one, measly, stupid, nobody of a law student made him want to jump off of the face of the planet.

He was a fool for letting her get this close. When had she gone from being absolutely nothing, to being everything? How could _he_ had fallen so hard for a Nekozawa?

Why could he feel guilty for not offering to help bandage her arm? Or for not driving her home, and leaving her in the driveway, waiting for a cab?

Hikaru laid his cheek on his arms, staring into his glass. He poured a shot, but he only took a single sip before he pushed it away.

Because for the first time, he wanted to solve his problem, not run away from it.

Then again... judging from the voices in his head, maybe he was insane? And just one more day, he'll be dead, what damage could alcohol do to him now?

At the sudden thought of death, he grimaced, and downed the last of his sake.

The fear of dying is so annoying...

"...You're just like him."

Hikaru groaned, slamming his glass down onto the island. "Oh for the love of crap, _Fumiko_. If you have something to tell me, wait for me in hell."

"...What?"

His body stiffened. The voices never actually _replied_ to him before.

Wait...

The spinning bar stool gave a long solid squeak as he turned around, looking only half as crazy as he felt.

Behind him, Mayuki took a step back, holding her bundled jacket to her chest, looking almost frightened.

"Mayuki?" He blurted out awkwardly. "What're you doing?"

"I... I was looking for Kaoru," she hesitated, throwing a cautious glance over her shoulder. "But, I guess he's not here, so..."

He blinked. "Has someone been behind me this whole time?"

"O-only for a moment. I just got here..."

"With my coincidentally insynced migrains, maybe I'm _psychic_?"

"Uh..."

"Is that what it means to be a chosen one?" He looked down at his lap. _No that's no important now_. He shook his head before looking back up at her. "Never mind. Why were you looking for Kaoru?"

Mayuki cleared her throat. "I haven't seen him since yesterday after he came home from work. I thought maybe he'd be down here."

"...The cellar?"

She sighed, looking towards the far side of the room. "Last time I talked to him he... wasn't in his right mind and we had a bit of a dispute. I... wanted to make sure he wasn't joyriding again.

He saw the uneasy look on her face and decided not to question how bad one of their disputes got this time. "He's not dumb. That's a mistake he only had to make, once."

She grumbled. "I'm... not concerned or anything."

Hikaru shrugged, turning his chair back around. "You could call him? But then again, you probably wouldn't want him to think you're worried about him, correct? And since you can't find him, maybe it's best to leave him alone."

"I'm not worried about him."

He unscrewed the sake bottle. "Then why are you looking for him?"

She huffed. "I already said why. I know he's picked up drinking again. Just because I'm mad at him, doesn't mean I want him to get hurt. You've probably known about it, and yet you haven't stopped him."

"He's already hurt, I doubt he'd care, if anything happened to him now."

He tipped the jar over, to pour into his glass, when she answered. "It doesn't sound like you care either."

Not even a drop fell into his cup before he put the bottle back down, sliding it against the polished counter.

"I have no right to stop him from something I can't even stop _myself_ from doing," he replied, cold and bitterly, pushing the sake away, and started to eye something a little stronger. "It's not my fault he feels like the only comfort he has is alcohol."

She scowled, feeling that his tone was directed to her. "He did it to himself."

"Don't we all?"

"And are you drunk, too?"

" _Trying_ to be."

"What could you be upset about? You're not dying anymore, so why are you wasting all your energy here? Or is it because Haruhi came to her senses and left?"

His shoulder's tensed, and his fingers strained around his glass. "That's not any of your business Mayuki, and I don't want to talk about her."

She was silent for a moment before she moved to the chair beside him. His cup must be warm now from his finger's clutching it so tightly.

She raised her hand at the very moment he felt her eyes on him and her palm met directly with his forehead. Her semi-cold skin made him almost lean into her touch. The heat from his cheeks to his hairline felt as though he had been standing in front of a furnace.

It wasn't until he figure out what she was doing that he pulled away.

"...Did you tell her you have a fever?"

"I'm not a child." He snapped, jerking his seat away from her. "I don't have to tell her anything."

Mayuki curled her fingers into her now warm hand and stuck it into the bundle of her jacket as she sat down. "She didn't run away from you, did she? You _pushed_ her away."

He scoffed bitterly, scraping his chair against the floor as he stood up. "She's related to the _Nekozawa's_ , did you think I'd stay with her?"

She spun her seat for her wide eyes to follow him. Her voice hitching as her heart did a strange leap in her chest. "But I thought-"

"It's what everyone thought," he spat. "But it's a lie. They mean nothing to us and There's no cure. No shortcut... It was stupid anyway."

His fingers tousled and gripped his hair, with such force, his knuckles turned a pale white. His frustration made him want to throw something. Something large and heavy. Something that would break, just so no one could see how he was falling apart.

His stomach turned as a strange feeling blossomed in his chest. A dark, inflamed feeling that turned his frustration to complete rage. He rubbed his sweating palms over his face, and noticed his "fever" skyrocketing.

The sensation was almost blinding, as a familiar, skull crushing twang in his head nearly sent him to his knees.

 _'Mommy...?'_

A faint voice whispered. The fear in the child's voice cause a ripple of goosebumps down his spine.

He wasn't alone.

Why was this happening now?

"It isn't Haruhi's fault it didn't work," Mayuki spoke up. "Why are you mad at _her_? You know what'll happen if you just _ignore_ it."

He turned to her, looking weak in his eyes, though nonetheless amused. "You sound like, Kaoru."

She frowned at that comment, but pushed it aside. "Are you down here because you're hiding? You're already dying once you step away from her. You can't send both of you to the grave because she isn't who you thought she was."

The mention of her over and over irritated the vice grip the voices in his head had on his emotions. With a step back, his hand grabbed at the edge of the counter, and collapsed back onto his stool.

"It wouldn't matter anyway. The virus doesn't affect, _Haruhi_." He said, hushed. "After Karuizawa, I thought I'd have to stay with her forever. Now I know that I don't have to."

"Have you asked her how she feels about that?"

He smirked, at that stupid question, and his head rolled to look at her. "Do you honestly _believe_ that she likes me? She's a Nekozawa. How do any of us know that she didn't say what she did just to get to us?"

"I don't know a lot about her. You'll be interested to know that you pretty much had her all to yourself," She admitted. "But everyone's had the pleasure of seeing both of you fawn over each other for the past few months. Nothing about her, or anything she did, ever made me think she was lying about who she is."

He tsked before looking back towards the ceiling. "What's the chance that A _Nekozawa_ was hired to be _my_ attorney?"

"It's a small world."

"Not that small."

Mayuki looked up to watch his face. She watched his hands clutch at his shirt, and watched as beads of sweat trickled down his temple. His breathing was growing ragged, as if that was a struggle in itself. A crease formed between his eyebrows, and saw his eyes glaze over with tears like a thin slice of plastic.

As her and Kaoru's lives and relationship was falling apart, Hikaru was always so sure of himself and what he wanted. She witnessed him fall apart after love, and was there as he picked himself up and outgrow heartbreak. He put himself and his wants before anyone else's for the longest time. While the life she imagined fell apart right in front of her once she was introduced to the virus, Hikaru was a saint.

Now, she saw confliction, and pain. Such visual pain she could almost feel it, too.

His eyes were showing heartbreak.

Watching him try to hide it made it unbearable.

"I think you made up an imaginary situation in your head." She muttered, turning her chair to face the island. "...I don't think she lied to you."

" _I know_ ," he groaned, tearing his fingers through his bangs. "I know she didn't. That's the problem." The longer he tried to keep a straight face, the sooner it starting breaking. "She's never done anything wrong... She's a _Nekozawa_ and hasn't done anything but try to help me. _That's_ the problem."

His voice cracked, and if tears had a voice, you could hear it when he spoke.

"Every time I think about her I feel like I'm betraying the Hitachiin name." He said softly.

Mayuki pulled a bottle near her, gazing at the label to see what he had been drinking. "...Just because you like her, even if she's a Nekozawa, doesn't mean you're betraying your family, Hikaru. Fumiko caused this. Haruhi didn't."

He stared at his cup's reflection, and his gaze lingered where _his_ lacked, thinking what it might be like if he could actually see it.

"Then..." he whispered, "Why is that, when I think about her... the curse is all our fault?"

"I don't know," she finally put the bottle down with a disgusted grimace before turning to him one last time. "Why do _you_ think you feel that way?"

When he didn't answer, she sighed. "Hikaru, I'm the last person who should be giving advice, but I want you to know that I don't blame Kaoru for who he is. You can't hate someone for something they can't change, and my feelings towards him have nothing to do with him being cursed."

"No one should feel ashamed of who they are, or who their family is," she continued. "I already can see that Haruhi doesn't feel that way either, so you shouldn't feel guilty for _wanting_ something."

Her stool's metal feet scratched the tile as she stood up. Her arm slipped under her jacket while her other hand halfheartedly brushed against his shoulder.

"...Where are you going?"

Mayuki just shrugged. "It's almost midnight. I need to know if Kaoru's home."

" _Cute_. You actually sound like a wife, for once."

She eyed the back of his head, picturing it a perfect target to throw something very blunt at, but instead of grabbing one of those nice bookends off the wall's shelf, she turned on her heel and headed towards the door.

"Goodnight, Hikaru."

He listened to her footsteps in silence until she was almost gone before he opened his mouth again.

"...What's the weather like outside?"

She stopped to think. "Same as earlier. Except there's at least 6 inches of snow now... _Why_?"

* * *

 _It's cold._

 _It's dark._

 _It's lonely._

 _It was too much of a complicated situation for a child to understand, but she knew_ that _._

 _That she was alone. That she was scared, and that no one had come when she called._

 _Her favorite stuffed bear had long fallen to the floor, but no one was there to give it back to her, and the reason why she couldn't move was too much for her to understand, and there was no one to explain, or to tell her it was okay._

 _She wanted to feel the warmth of a hug, but she didn't remember if it was the sort of comfort she needed to feel better._

 _And yet, no matter how many times her voice came unanswered, she kept crying for someone who she had never seen before until she couldn't anymore._

 _"Mommy...?"_


	39. Chapter 39

**Stricken**

* * *

Mayuki's arms were practically on fire as her hands rubbed along the sleeves of her shirt. It wasn't cold in her room, in fact, pacing from wall to wall was beginning to make her sweat, but her shaken nerves were sending a unceasing shiver up and down her spine.

She waited for the auto-tuned voice on the phone to finish telling her how to leave a message, for the fifth time in the last twenty minutes. After it gave a long solemn 'beep', she tossed it onto her pillow. Maybe with it out of her eyesight, she'd be less tempted to try and call again.

She wasn't afraid he'd hurt himself. Their marriage, if not their lives too, had only lasted this long because of his concern for her wellbeing, so of course he wasn't avoiding her on purpose just to die.

But what if he went for a drive last night? What if he hit a tree? or drove off a cliff?

Mayuki grabbed her phone again, but stopped herself before she even unlocked it. It didn't feel right feeling so worried about him dying when she had gotten upset with him before. It honestly was his fault though. He shouldn't have jumped to conclusions, but maybe she did over react.

She swiped her finger over her phone's screen, just to stare at her contacts.

He never really liked getting yelled at...

After a moment of arguing with herself, she gave up and collapsed against the bed. She grabbed one of her pillows to scream her frustration into it, and just laid there, staring at the ceiling.

The room was growing colder. She felt sick to her stomach.

What if he really was hurt? He smelt of alcohol the last time she saw him. What if something happened and he couldn't come back? It was so dark now... And it was always Hikaru who would throw a hissy fit and run away without a word. Not Kaoru.

Kaoru was...

Kaoru was anything but perfect, and yet... at one point, meant everything to her.

Those were silly times. When she was too neive for her own good. It was when, all Kaoru had to do was say the right things, wink at her from across the hall, blow her a kiss, look her in the eye while pushing her hair behind her ear. So many stupid, simple things that she used to love so much.

She laid her hand against her stomach, staring at the ceiling that she wished would just cave in on her.

She looked up at the ceiling, clenching her teeth. She stared at the roof until her jaw hurt, and her vision began to blur under her eyelashes.

Her phone fell to the floor as she moved to hold one of the pillows against her face.

* * *

Her tea had gone cold, and was abandoned to the far corner of her nightstand. It was already well past 1 in the morning, and she had stared at the wall for so much of that time that it was pitiful.

Her face was all over the fashion media. Erasing her "fling" with a millionaire was impossible, everyone knew her name. Pictures of them together were on magazines in the checkouts at her grocery store, her coworkers gossiped about her during work hours.

It was horrible, when all she had to do was leave her house to buy leeks for dinner, and her landlady just so happened to be talking to another neighbor when she, very loudly so, called out to her, asking about her "boyfriend".

"I don't have a boyfriend," she grumbled.

"Oh? But what about that nice handsome man I saw you with? I could have sworn he was somethin."

He was somethin' alright.

She was infatuated with him, but that was short lived. She couldn't believe she had opened her feelings to him so easily. She left her heart open on her sleeve like a fool, when all he was, was an unreasoned obsession.

Did she honestly tell him that she loved him?

Why would she say that?

Because she didn't. That's not what this-... It's not what _that_ was.

Haruhi rolled over in bed, holding her pillow against her chest.

Why was she thinking about him? He didn't care, and probably was somewhere, sitting in the dark, cursing her name because she wasn't who he thought she was. _She_ was dying, too. All her dreams in life were put on a terrifying hold. How was she going to finish law school and find a job? How could she leave her father all alone?

Why couldn't she focus on herself? Why didn't she matter? Why was it all about _him_?

How much time did he have left? She wasn't keeping track of the hours. If she waited too long, would that classify her as a murderer? What if Hikaru died? It'd be all her fault. She wouldn't be able to live with that guilt.

No.

No, that's stupid. He's the one who changed his mind. She tried to help him, but because of her blood type, he chose to throw her away. It wouldn't be her fault.

And yet...

No matter how many times she continued to tell herself that, she wasn't convinced. She was still scared.

Haruhi sat up, pulling the pillow away from her face. "...Why do you like him _anyway_?"

The pillow didn't reply.

She knew _why_.

She fell in love with the man he _was_ , not the man who he always wanted her to _see_.

The man she loved was alone and scared. Scared of hurting people. He was scared of telling the truth, and showing his feelings, so he created an entirely new person, one that hid _all_ of it.

The pillow fell to the bed. With a sigh, she rolled over, reaching for her cup, not realizing it had gone so cold. Not wanting to leave a half empty cup of bad coffee laying around, Haruhi got up to take it to the kitchen.

Their relationship was strange, there was no doubting that, but she thought everything was okay. Not perfect, but... _okay_. The drive they took to her office was the last peaceful moment they shared, and yet, the tiny mishap of getting kidnapped by Nekozawa's, was all it took to send everything through a grinder. It knocked them both back down to square one.

It was always so hard to get on his good side. Now she only wished their ' _moment_ ' had lasted just a little longer.

* * *

His jaw was tightening, and as he was driving, his eyes were everything but focused on the road. She watched as he clenched the steering wheel, and bit his lip. He rolled his shoulders, and occasionally mumbled something under his breath.

Maybe he was uncomfortable? His face had turned every shade of red.

Haruhi looked down at her watch. They still had 15 minutes...

She looked at him, waited a moment, then cleared her throat and looked away. She couldn't stop thinking about the night before, and this morning. He'd been acting strange. While he was usually distant, he had been oddly affectionate last night, and yet, seemed scared to touch her this morning.

Maybe he had climbed into bed with her last night, and accidentally pushed her off and felt guilty, so he hugged her? He did picked her and put her back in her spot, but she couldn't remember ever seeing him again. Maybe he got embarrassed and left?

She swiped her thumb over her bottom lip. Thinking about the kiss he forced this morning.

Haruhi shook her head. He probably wasn't thinking too much about it. He was a _guy_. That kiss was just a _guy_ thing. Guys did things like that all the-

Her thoughts were interrupted as the car came to a sudden stop. Hikaru slammed on the breaks, just as the car came inches away from the bumper of a car in front of them.

From the look on his face, he obviously wasn't paying attention.

"Maybe if you'd look out the windshield instead of staring into your lap, you'd learn to drive." She muttered. "This is a _red_ light."

"That was clearly _his_ fault," he blurted out, gesturing to the car ahead. "It wasn't red 2 seconds ago."

"The yellow light isn't suggesting that you slow down. It means to actually _slow down_."

"And didn't I _do_ that?"

"Only 2 inches before wreaking," she groaned. "Not that I'd be surprised. My car is still in the shop because of what you did."

Hikaru rolled his eyes, glaring at the back of a hyper kid's head as they bounced around in the backseat of the car in front of them. "I feel like all you ever do is nag me. Off doing a good thing, but you just turn it all around. Make it all _my_ fault."

"Because it _is_ your fault."

He ignored that, and started just to rape his fingers against the steering wheel, tapping his heel against the floorboard. She doubted that it was because he didn't want to argue anymore. He was probably trying to think about a completely different topic for them to fight about.

The car in front of them started to move as the light turned green, but he didn't move. Instead, he turned to her as she started laughing.

He didn't say anything else to her for the rest of the drive. Apparently she had embarrassed him over his breaking point and the only way to justify his pride'less silence was to turn the radio on so high he couldn't hear her.

That wasn't it. She thought his sulk was cute, but it was the look he gave her, as they drove up to her firm, that made her forget every stupid thing he said.

He bit his lip, just staring down at the foot pedals as she shrugged off her seatbelt and opened the door. He opened his mouth, but closed it.

"Don't get a ticket on your way to work," She said.

Hikaru stuck his tongue out.

Haruhi rolled her eyes, stepping out of the car. "Don't forget to get gas."

"...What?"

"Your car," she stated, patting the rim of the door. "It's almost out of _gas_."

He glared at her for a moment, before turning to his dash, and flicking off the silencer. It immediately started to beep, with a flashing red arrow.

He flipped it back off. " _Pfft_...I knew that."

They stared at each other, before she laughed at his scowl and moved to shut the door behind her.

"Maybe you should go... before you waste all your gas just sitting here... running it for no reason."

"Haru-eh _wait_ ," he called out, as she turned around. Then instantly regretted it once she looked at him again. "Er... _Call me_ , when you're... ready to leave."

She raised her brow, and he cleared his throat, pulling down his sunglasses. It was embarrassing, even for her, just watching his cheeks flare up.

"Well, yeah," Haruhi bit her cheek to keep herself from smirking to wide. "You're my ride... I was going to do that anyway."

Even his ears turned red from his embarrassment, and she could tell, but she could only laugh at him, as he switched on the radio and rolled the window up.

* * *

The sing was running in the kitchen sink, as she was using the sponge to clean her teacup when...

 _Crack-_

She gasped, pulling away when the teacup broke in her hands, also breaking her train of thought.

She was scrubbing too hard, she figured, and threw the sponge into the skin, splashing water onto the counter. Haruhi looked down at her hand, but thankfully the glass hadn't tore through skin.

How pathetic... couldn't even do the simplest things without getting distracted.

He was right. He was poison. He was bad for her. When was she going to remember to mind her own business? It wasn't his blood, his sickness. It was him. He was the virus, and she could feel him. His own virus might not affect her, but he was driving her mad. She couldn't concentrate. Just thinking about him made her hands start to shake.

She grabbed a rag from under the sink, but it curled into ball inside her fist. Her veins were pulsing. Her knuckles were turning white.

She was angry. She was scared. She hated herself. Blame was piling on her shoulders, nearly turning her stomach inside out. She was half responsible for a man's life. A man who didn't care one way or another if he died. A man who hated her because of who she was related to. A man who never liked her, and was only close to her, purely for a human's touch.

That is... if he even saw her as a human anymore, and not just... a _Nekozawa_.

She pressed the damp rag against her face, listening to herself breathe.

Maybe this was for the best.

Knock- knock-

She ran the rag down her face as there was a faint knock on the door. She though about getting it, but then why would anyone be knocking on her door at 2am? while there was almost a foot of snow falling from the sky.

The only one stupid enough to even think of something so idiotic would be-

Haruhi groaned at the thought. He did say he would visit her, but... she didn't think he'd come _this_ early.

Her shoulders jumped as there was another few knocks. This was a guy she couldn't ignore and hope he's go away.

She threw the rag to the floor and felt her face, to make sure she was at least presentable and wouldn't cause anyone to ask questions about red puffy eyes, before tried not to step over a overflowing pile of newspaper bundles as she went to the door.

There was another knock before she could even slip her shoes on.

"Tamaki, it better be so important that it couldn't wait for you to tell me it this afternoon." She sighed. "I'm not in the mood for company. Especially right now when it's nearly 3 in the morning. Did your father not teach you how to tell _time_?"

She threw the door open. "Because it's hardly-... _Oh_."

It wasn't Tamaki.

Her face fell in disgust. She would have preferred, Tamaki over _him_.

"I would have gotten here a little earlier, but... snow."

Haruhi closed her eyes, half tempted to slam the door in his face. "Why are you here at all?"

Hikaru stood up, away from the door frame, a snow fell from his shoulders. "Haruhi... I can explain-"

"You don't have the right."

"I know," he managed, holding the door frame, panting. "I... about that-"

"Were you _running_?"

"Well-"

"In 20 degree weather?"

"That's not _important_." He looked up, but no matter how high he stood, she avoided his gaze. "I... I need to apologize."

She stood on her tiptoes to look over his shoulder. "Where's your car?"

"Would you just _listen_?"

" _No_." She fell back onto her feet. "And I don't have to. Just go away. You're _not_ sorry, and it probably wasn't even your idea. Kaoru told you to come here didn't he? He made you feel _guilty_. Just go away before I start feeling _sorry_ for you again."

She swung the door, but he stuck his foot between it and the wall before it could close.

"I don't even know where Kaoru is," he admitted, pushing the door back. "And I'm _not_ sorry, but that isn't what it's about."

"Then you have nothing to apologize for," she said. "Except for keeping this door open. Now _move_."

"Just let me explain," he pleaded, pushing against the door more, the harder she tried to push it close. "I can't change the way I feel about the Nekozawa's, and what I said to you, I-... When they said you were one of them I forgot who I was talking to. You're not like them and I shouldn't have thought you were. I know you didn't lie about not knowing you were related to them. And I shouldn't have yelled at you, because it wasn't your fault, and..."

He eventually trailed off, staring at the outside wall, as if his words got him lost.

If this were Kaoru's problem, he could probably come up with twenty different ways to apologize. He could do those things, but he couldn't. His brain worked faster than his mouth moved and words started to tumble before he could form coherent sentences.

Haruhi hesitated, not able to find the words to express her discomfort, and barely knew how to reply at all. She was even more lost than he was, but instead of shutting the door while he was distracted by his own voice in his head, her hand fell from the doorknob and the cold wind blew the door wide open.

She could tell the virus was getting to him. The sweat on his forehead was turning his bangs to ice, yet the cold wasn't bothering him. She couldn't tell if his face was red from exhaustion and a side effect of a fever, or from thinking too hard and holding his breath, but felt herself breaking down. The desperateness in his eyes made her want to kick herself in the stomach.

"Is... _this_ your apology?"

"Uh..."

He cursed himself. This was not the way he practiced in the car. But now, standing in front of her, he made a fool of himself, and didn't even remember what he was going to tell her.

"Because it's not very good."

"I'm never had to apologize to a _girl_ before," he snapped defensively, completely tossing away his pride with the crack in his voice. "Much less apologize at all. Now you made me lose track. I can't remember where I was going."

"You were off track from the start..." she rubbed her face. "It's so early. How did you know I wasn't already asleep and wouldn't open the door?"

"I... I don't know. I didn't really think what you were _doing_. I wasn't paying attention to the time, I only-"

"That lack of sunlight should've given you a hint."

"Haruhi-"

"You really could have waited until morn-"

"I didn't _want_ to wait." He blurted out. A puff of mist surrounded his face as he breathed. His knuckles were turning a dangerous shade of white the harder he gripped at the doorframe. "I didn't matter to me, I just knew that I had to see you. If I waited any longer I wouldn't changed my mind. I... needed to tell you that _I_ messed up. I messed up and I don't want you to hate me for it."

Her face fell. As painful as his speech was to listen to, she felt as if she was losing herself to him all over again. He wasn't trying, and yet he could control her so easily.

"I don't hate you, Hikaru," Haruhi sighed, staring down at the snow being pushed inside. "The only reason we're here now is because you hate me, not the other way around. And the problem is that you can't open your eyes. This isn't the sixteenth hundreds. Everything the Nekozawa's have ever done to your family Is in the past, and I wasn't even apart of this until just two days ago. I never did what they've done, and just because I'm related to them, you acted as if I committed a murder."

"But you don't understand," he whimpered. "It's all because you're related to them that it's a _problem_. I don't _want_ you to be like them, but instead of accepting it, I got upset and got mad at you."

"And...?"

"And I'm _sorry_."

The look on his face when he was finally able to breathe made her want to laugh at him, but it didn't look like he would be able to handle the jab to his self-esteem.

"Ya' know..." she answered. "That's all you had to say."

He looked away. "No _wait_ , that doesn't sound right either..."

" _Hikaru_ ," she interrupted him just as he opened his mouth to continue on another word rant. "It's okay. I forgive you. Just stop talking."

He stood, frozen solid as she reached out for his free hand. His back stiffened as her warm fingers curled around his cold ones and held his hand until they stopped trembling.

It wasn't until then that he realized just how cold he was, until she held his one in both her hands and started to tug him inside.

"The sad thing is... I was ready to forgive you the moment I opened the door."

He sighed.

 _This_ was sympathy. He knew, that this was exactly what he had accused her of in the beginning. She was sorry for him. She couldn't hide that. Everyone was. Everyone who knew him, and even people he hadn't spoke to in ten years felt _sorry_ for him. It how It was.

If you're dying from some kind of incurable virus, someone will try to pat you on the head, and always let you have your way.

And Haruhi, while her heart was in the right place, made him feel as if she was rewarding him for being stupid.

That's how his family treated him. That's not what he wanted from her, too.

He grabbed her wrist as she turned her back to him, after claiming that she was going to go to the kitchen and put on a pot of tea.

"No."

She frowned. "Well it's too early for coffee."

Hikaru ignored that. "I don't want you to forgive me because you think you have to."

She groaned, ripping her hand away from him so fast that they both stumbled. "Are we really talking about this again? Are you going to make me feel even more pathetic than I already do, by having to spell it out for you?"

"Well you could at least make me work for it," he pouted. "When you make it so easy for me to take advantage of you it feels like it's only because I'm _dying_."

"Well you're not _dying_ anymore."

"Only because of _you_ ," his voice cracked. He tried shutting his mouth, but there was a burn I his chest. It was feasting on the clouded emotions that continued to build up. While a faint voice in the back of his mind that was telling him to go on.

"The only reason I'm still here is because of you, and you _know_ that," he continued. "I don't want you to forgive me because you're afraid of me dying."

Haruhi closed her eyes, afraid that she'll tear her walls completely down by letting him know she was about to cry.

"Hika-"

He caught her hand as she tried to touch his cheek. "I don't want you to think about the virus ever again. Pretend it doesn't exist. Then if I never had it, what would you say to me?"

"That I _still_ forgive you."

His face fell, and he let go of her hand. His point wasn't getting across. She wasn't understanding. "But, why-"

"I don't think I would like you as much as I do, if you didn't have it," she started, looking up to glare at him. "I can't pretend it's not there, especially now, now that both our lives revolves around it. It's who you are, Hikaru. You wouldn't be the same person if you didn't have it, and that's the side of you I like. I'm obsessed with _you_ , not your damn virus. Why does it _bother_ you so much, and why can't you just _accept_ it? I don't have any other way to explain it."

"Because I want to like you back but I _can't_ ," he tore his heart on his sleeve. "After Karuizawa, everything fell apart. I didn't want you to be stuck with me, and after I found out you were related to the Nekozawa's and that... the virus didn't affect you, I knew you could _leave_. You wouldn't have to tolerate _me_ and _my_ problems for the rest of your life. Being with people like us is like living in a cage. That's why I've never cared what would happen to me."

"But," his voice softened, "Tonight... when I thought about you, for the first time I didn't know what to think. I've never been scared to die, but now... I don't want to. I hate the thought of not being able to see you. I want to live, but it wouldn't mean anything to me unless I got to live with _you_."

He looked down, staring at his shoes. "But it won't work that way if we're only together because you feel responsible for me."

Haruhi his her face in her hands, trying to wipe away any tears before they'd get out of hand. "I've always seen more than just your sickness, why do you think I always came back? Why didn't you tell this _before_?"

"I didn't know that I loved you until now."

"You're so _stupid_."

"...I know."

Her hands went to his cheeks, and raised his face until he was only looking at her. "You know... that it won't work either, unless you start believing me. Everything I've ever told you was true. I've never lied to you."

He opened his mouth, but before he could say a thing, she stood on her tiptoes and pulled him down until their touched. His entire body stiffened as his fingertips brushed across the back of his neck and held him completely still.

He closed his eyes as he felt someone else's pain in his chest, and slid his hand through her hair to hold even closer when he heard someone in his head, crying, screaming just so their voice could be heard, but seemed to get louder the longer he ignored it.

Haruhi feet fell back to the floor, and his arms came around her to hold her back. She leaned back to breathe, just before he kissed her again.

 _Hikaru..._

He pulled back with a gasp, hearing Fumiko whisper his name.

"I love you, Haruhi"

She swallowed, barely able to breathe. "I love you, too."

"You promise you won't regret anything?"

"Not if it's with you."

He leaned into her again, but he could kiss her once more time, she stuck a finger between their lips.

"You're sick," she murmured. "You're running a fever."

"Don't make me do it tonight." He pleaded.

"You're running out of time."

"I don't want to think about it," he stuck his thumb under her chin, dragging her eyes away from the mark on his neck.

"Just _us_."


	40. Chapter 40

**Kaoru**

* * *

It was five in the morning before he finally lost the fight and finally closed his eyes.

And just Five fifteen before he was dreaming.

Hikaru shifted, curling his nose in deep sleep.

 _Ngh..._

His fingers tightened around the blankets in a fist, nerve pulsing, too far from reality to notice the bitter taste of blood in his mouth. From his teeth baring into his cheek.

He turned on his side, pressing his shoulder hard against the mattress. His heart was _pounding._ His veins were twisting inside out. He was suffocating, but he couldn't wake up. He was stuck in the grievous atmosphere of completed darkness, feeling stripped and robbed of his will and sanity.

When suddenly, she appeared in front of him, licking lips that didn't belong to her. Running sharp fingernails every inch of his bare skin. Tangling hands in his hair. She was forceful, laying down every fiery kiss on his neck, that burned like acid.

She flashed him her silver, lustrous orbs beneath her lashes, grinning with horrifying amusement. Laughing in _her_ voice at his inability to get away from her, as he was pinned under her hands that were clawing at his wrists.

She laughed at his pain. Loving that he pleaded her name to let him go.

 _I like it when you beg.._

Her tongue traced along her teeth, as he leaned over him, a hand pressed against his chest.

She opened her mouth as hundreds of other voices crawled our from the background, all crying, screaming, and spewing hate, tearing down all his walls until he was completely, and ashamedly vulnerable.

She breathed against his throat

But before she could sink her flat teeth into his neck, he flew forward, wide awake with a scream.

Haruhi was beside him when he screamed, and she gasped, almost throwing herself off the mattress as she jerked out of the comfortable arms of her peaceful dream. She was tossed from an abyss of a thousand white pillows to the real world, and the image of Hikaru before her, on the verge of tearing his own hair out.

"Hika," she whined. "What happened? What's wrong?"

When he didn't answer, she rubbed her face and reached for his shoulder, almost feeling the vibrations of his nerves under her palm. He was _shaking,_ panting as if he couldn't breathe.

"...Hikaru," she hesitated, "Are you okay?"

Too focused on hearing his own heart in his ears, he didn't even acknowledge her until he felt her fingertips graze against his hand, and his heart immediately stopped. He whirled around, thinking he was staring right in the eye with his nightmare.

It took a few terrified moments of glancing around his surroundings for his to realize he was no longer asleep, that he was in a small cozy bedroom, and not stuck in hell.

It took even longer to self-reassure himself that the one in front of him was _Haruhi_ , not Fumiko.

Seeing distant fear written into his face, her brown eyes looked back at him almost guiltily.

Hikaru turned away, hiding behind his hands.

He breathed. " _Damn it_."

He was used to having no one. He was always to focused on everyone else, that overall feeling of any loneliness was submerged under much deeper emotions. He didn't know that having anyone would effect him like this. It was asinine.

Now, he had two people, that have completely taken over his life.

One that he loved, and wanted to spend the rest of his life with, who loved him back even for what he was.

The other being the one who haunted him every time he closed his eyes, who enjoyed torturing him when he was vulnerable.

Both completely different, yet they shared the same face.

 _Why?_

 _Why couldn't you leave her alone?_

Haruhi brought her knees to her chest, mostly to keep herself from toppling over. It must be still early morning, she guessed, as she glanced over towards the small window of her bedroom. There was no reason why she should even exist this early, especially when she had fallen asleep, maybe just two hours ago.

She watched him for what felt like a few minutes, before reaching for his hand, before effortlessly dragging it from his face. He didn't react. He barely moved when she held his knuckles to her chest.

"Go back to bed, Hikaru." She whispered.

He shook his head.

Haruhi paused, wondering when exactly he got into her bed in the first place, considering she remembered them both falling asleep on the couch, but she shrugged it off.

She brushed out a curve in his bedhead and pulled his head to lay on her shoulder, feeling his wild pulse under his wrist. Immediately he shoved his face into her hair and wrapped his arms around her waist to pull her even closer, half mumbling half whining that it was her fault he couldn't sleep, but she didn't quite catch that part.

"What am I going to do with you?" she sighed.

Hikaru opened his eyes, with his chin laying on her shoulder, not saying a thing.

He was still trying to differentiate now from then, but no matter how tight he held her, and how tight she held him back, he couldn't stop his heart from pounding. There was nothing his conscience could hold on to that discerned this version of her from the one in his dreams. Even as he laid on her, surrounding himself completely in her warmth, she still felt like just a figment of his imagination.

He couldn't smell what kind of cheap shampoo she substituted for body-wash, but her skin was soft and as he entwined their fingers, she held his hand tighter. As he circled his arms around her and brought her in a cage made of tangled limbs, she settled into his chest as if she belonged there.

She was harmless and he was secure.

He closed his eyes again, bringing her with him as he fell back onto the pillows.

"Hika-" Haruhi started, slightly annoyed with their position, and tried to wiggled her way loose from his tight, heated embrace, but he ignored her and just let out a breath against her neck, getting more comfortable.

She pulled her hand away and managed to turn around, now using his free arm as a pillow, and was stuck watching his chest rise and fall until she eventually fell to sleep.

He waited until he knew she was in deep sleep before carefully turning her over and snuggling into her back, feeling the rough texture of her mark against his lips.

Hikaru squeezed his eyes shut once more, breathing in that vexatious scent of lemons and charcoal.

 _I've never wanted to have anything that I couldn't stand losing._

 _Now that I do, I can't let go._

 _You've taken everything from our dignity to our motivation to live._

 _I know what you're capable of. Persecute me until I choke._

 _Fumiko._

 _Just don't take her down with me._

* * *

"Hikaru?"

Haruhi furrowed her brow and pulled the fork out of her mouth, dropping it onto her plate with a sign.

It was barely nine in the morning when they got out of bed, and in the middle of her getting dressed, with a lot of hassle involved trying to get him to turn around and not look, Hikaru had threw the blankets off of himself in a huff and awkwardly said he was hungry and that she should make them something, so she did.

She glared across the table, twisting her fork around the remaining pieces of her rolled omelet, watching Hikaru let his own plate of food go to waste as he fell asleep, once again, on the table, with his head pillowed in his arms.

She was forced awake from his tossing, turning and mumbling at one point during the night, but did he ever go to sleep? Or did he continuously keep waking himself up?

Haruhi watched his sleep until she finished the rest of her breakfast, and even as she started stacking her dished together to take to the kitchen, he didn't even flinch.

"Maybe you would have gotten more sleep if you had slept in the living room, like we agreed," she muttered, though his ears were deaf to her. "Serves you right for sneaking into a girls room while they're sleeping."

He turned his head into the crook of his elbow, muttering, "You didn't say I had to stay there."

She put lowered the rim of her cup from her lips. "Oh, so you _are_ awake. Good. Now eat your food so you can go home."

"I wasn't sleeping," he complained about how bright the room was, before laying his face into his sleeve. "You just weren't saying anything."

"Did you even _go_ to sleep last night?" she asked, as if interrogating him, but she just got a ' _Mgehh_ ' out of him as he groaned, purposely ignoring her.

Haruhi waited for him to turn himself over and finally eat the food he asked her for, but besides his breathing, he didn't move. Which was completely different from his attitude last night, where she couldn't even beg him to leave her alone and go to sleep.

Every time she'd turn here back to him, claiming she was leaving to go to her own bed, he'd wrap his arms around her waist and hold her tighter before she could crawl away, saying he wasn't ready for bed yet. Despite it being near four in the morning, and that he needed to make sure she really truly wasn't mad at him anymore before he could sleep, because the way she was pushing him away made him feel that she was indeed, still mad, and that kisses would put them both at ease, so therefore they should so it _all_ night.

Which was a _lie_ , she did not feel at ease. She was exhausted.

The logic of Hitachiin's were not wise, and it was a miracle they were as rich as they were.

She huffed. "Well at least take a bite."

"Feed it to me." He shot back.

"Why do I always have to do everything for you-"

She barely stood up, arms full of dishes, when the door was slammed open and door knob just missed breaking a hole into the wall. A mouthful of frustrated grunts and half-suppressed complaints came from the doorway, and she flinched as the sound of shoes practically being throw to the floor.

Hikaru looked towards the direction of the noise and muttered bitterly about someone disturbing his half-conscious nap, then, tried to slyly hide himself under the table after he saw who just came in.

"Why is there so much snow?" Ryoji trampled through the tiny hall. "And _when_ did the weathermen stop informing people? I was stuck at work because the roads were closed, and the trains were delayed almost two hours! I'm sorry you were here all alone for diner and breakfast, Haruhi. You must have been so... _lonely_..."

He was in the middle of stripping off his wet jacket, before he lost the effort and it fell right at his feet.

Haruhi quietly whined about the snow he was tracking through the house.

"Good morning, Dad."

"What. Is. _That_?" He ignored her, and immediately pointed towards the orange fluff of hair at the table.

Hikaru frowned, adjusting himself away from the table that was starting to lean to one side from his weight. "Hi... Ranka."

His father turned to her, his brow raised almost to his hairline, his finger still pointed at the man in his house, waiting for her to explain.

Haruhi shrugged, not knowing what he expected I mean really, this wasn't the _first_ time this has happened. At least he didn't walk in with him _on top_ of her.

"That's, Hikaru."

He didn't even blink.

"He... showed up here really late last night."

Miraculously, he was pointing at him so hard, his finger was starting to shake.

"...And he was just about to leave. Bye, Hikaru."

Hikaru looked at her, strangely, as if leaving was not in the plan at all, and he was trying to telepathically ask her what she was talking about. He didn't want to go back out there. It was cold.

Only if you have a girl you desperately need to apologize to, to atom for your sins, should you run around mad in a blazing snow storm, and he had already done that last night. _Sheesh. No slack._

Haruhi silently complained about the snow her father stomped through the pathway to the living nook but from the look on his face, she wasn't about to say anything about it, and turned her back so she wouldn't have to see the deathly stare. Because, well... it was partly her fault.

After working a draining night shift at the bar, and having to find his way back through almost two feet of snow was a bit much for him to handle. Coming home to find Hikaru in his house, alone with her was the cherry on top of his frustrations.

Hikaru flinched as Ryoji flung his bag and his coat to the floor, and cleared his throat, hoping that avoiding his own gaze would make him stop looking at him. With the lack of frilly feminine clothes, his red hair fuzzy from the weather and slipping out of it's ponytail, and his makeup smeared across his face, he looked normal to Haruhi, but to Hikaru, he was frightening.

"You've got some _nerve_." He spat, shrugging off his scarf. "I'd outa-"

"I made breakfast." Haruhi intervened, but under the sudden pressurized chill in the air, she went completely unnoticed.

He threw his finger towards the door. " _Get out._ "

Hikaru opened his mouth, and scrambled to his feet, ready to do exactly what he said until Haruhi put up a hand to stop him.

She reached out for his hand, seeing his knuckles turn white. "Dad, it's okay, really. He apologized for everything. I was the one who-"

He stepped out of her grasp, his scowl not faltering as he turned to her, and huffed. "And all he had to do was say he was sorry? Knowing that it's him, you probably forgave him without a reason why."

Haruhi frowned. "No, I-"

Ryoji barely took steps before he was almost toe-to-toe with Hikaru. "I don't care what your excuse is, I wont allow my daughter to be disrespected by some fancy rich boy who knows how to get what he want. The fact you even have the audacity to come and apologize in the first place, _disgusts_ me."

Hikaru glanced over towards Haruhi, maybe for some help jogging his memory of what he could have done wrong to this man, but she just shrugged him away.

"I..." his teeth dug into his lip and forced his eyes down to his shoes. "I don't have an excuse."

"I'll let it slide that you made her lose her position at her firm and have nearly jeopardized her whole career," he gave his daughter a sour look, "Because it is her fault, too. But abandoning her in a place she's never been before, with absolute strangers, in the middle of winter after, _after_ finding out she's sick, and letting her get hurt, and not showing your face until _days_ later is what pisses me off."

While that was a complicated situation in itself, Hikaru could think of nothing from that that would justify what he did. He glanced over towards Haruhi, who was fidgeting awkwardly in the background. He saw a glimpse of the white bandage around her arm before she escaped to the kitchen.

Hikaru could almost feel himself deteriorating under her father's stare, but he waited until Haruhi was completely out of earshot before he could workup enough courage to even open his mouth.

"I know," he breathed, twisting the hem of his shirt around his finger. "I don't deserve her."

Ryoji wasn't amused. " _Exactly_. Haruhi always sees potential. She wouldn't have said no to you no matter what you did. And after all the things she's done for you, y _ou_ don't deser-..." He stopped.

He looked back at the redhead. " _What_?"

Hikaru felt heat rise to the back of his neck. He curled his toes inside his shoes and looked towards the curtain to the kitchen again, doubling checking to make sure no one else was listening in on him.

This wasn't the ideal situation to be doing this at all. When the thought occurred to him last night, he imagined a fancy restaurant, lots of flowers for sincerity, hours of buttering up with gifts and a stable relationship with his daughter. Not in their tiny apartment during breakfast, with her father so furious at him it was to the point he could rip him to shreds had it not been for Haruhi only a few steps away.

Any _rational_ person would wait.

He didn't want to wait.

Hikaru stood up so straight, his heels dug into the floor. Ryoji glared as he took a step back, and tried to stand taller.

"I know.. what I did," the sudden rush of anxiety almost made him choke. "And it was all my fault. If I had been there sooner, Haruhi's wouldn't have gotten hurt." He paused. "And... because of the Nekozawa's, I got upset with her and..." His chest clenched beneath the breath he was holding. "I never wanted to see her again, so... I left."

Ryoji huffed.

"And," he swallowed, his own air almost suffocating him. "It was all my fault. I-...I'm sorry."

Hikaru finally breathed, but the pressure in his chest grew even thicker, the longer Ryoji stared at him, not saying a word.

"Yes,' he muttered bitterly, "well, _of course_ you are-"

"I love her."

He twitched.

'Love' tumbled out of his mouth so awkwardly Hikaru was too focused on trying to come up with a better word to cover it up, that he didn't see how red Ryoji's face was turning.

"Of all the-"

"I want to marry her."

If Ryoji had picked up that cup of coffee Haruhi had left on the counter for him, he was pretty sure he would have choked from how hard his breath cut through his lungs.

" **What**?"

Hikaru opened his mouth, but nothing came out. Immediately regretting his entire life.

"Don't get me wrong, Hitachiin, there was a time I would have taken you with a grain of salt for _my_ daughter," He let out a airy laugh, but it was not a humorous one, and it sent a shiver up Hikaru's spine. "But that was a _long_ time ago. Before I knew you as other than a pretty face on a magazine."

"But you're more than that, aren't you?" He grumbled, "You're an irresponsible, repulsive, ignorant, national playboy who really has no business being around _my_ Haruhi, and it is beyond me that she would even consider you a friend. Much less Marry you, but that's none of my business."

He stooped to his level. " _Is it_?"

Any confidence Hikaru could have sworn he had, vanished, and it left his cowering, but, no matter how loud his conscience screamed at him to stop, his mouth kept moving. Forcing such true, genuine words was making his heart pound, and the longer he thought about this, the more he agreed with himself that it was a bad idea.

"Not even to mention you haven't even known each other for that long, and after what you've done, you're brave enough to look me in the eye and say it." He turned around, still huffing. "I'd admire you, if I wasn't filled with so much rage-"

Hikaru panicked as he saw him heading to the kitchen. "No wait- Don't tell Haruhi!"

"Tell Haruhi? Are you _mad_? What if by chance she said 'yes'? That would be terrible. No. You keep that to yourself."

"Oh, well..." Hikaru cleared his throat, "It wouldn't be... t _hat_ terrible."

Ryoji whirled back around. puffing out his chest and flicking back his hair that now came completely loose from it's tie. "Listen here. I don't know what has gone on between you and my daughter, but I've only ever see her cry a few times, and these days, it's because you upset her. Now, you must be a real special kind of person to her to be able to do that, but _I_ don't like it."

Hikaru frowned. "I know, but-"

He stopped as he stuck a finger to his chest. "I can't help it if Haruhi likes you, but you'd better start shaping up and start acting like you care, instead of throwing a hissing fit and tossing her aside like she's nothing every time you can't make up your mind. Make me believe you _do_ deserve her before you ever think about marrying her."

His words suddenly grew quiet as she looked down towards the floor. "After learning that I might not have her for much longer, don't think I'll give her away to just _anybody_."

Hikaru was speechless as Ryoji tuned his back to him, and started to stalk his way down the tiny hall towards his bedroom. He muttered something under his breath, but Hikaru was dragged too far into his thoughts to catch what it was.

Then, suddenly, there was a muffled swear and the curtain was thrown open revealing Haruhi, fumbling with a towel in her hands, complaining about too much leftovers.

She stopped in the middle of the room, looking at the distraught spread across his face. "

"What?" She glared.

Hikaru thought for a moment, looking into her eyes, but oddly, the moment she walked back into the room, all his uncertainty he had from Ranka's words didn't matter.

"Nothin." He grinned.

"What's that stupid look for then?"

"Neh, what stupid look?"

"That one. It makes you look like a perv'."

"You don't have to be so honest..."

* * *

 _Oh god._

The door was thrown open, and Mayuki stumbled into the bathroom. She threw herself over the sink and drenched her face in cold water, trying not to puke. Even if the last thing she ate was yesterday's dinner, she felt sick to her stomach.

She clenched her jaw, staring into the drain, watching water drip from her nose. It had been years since they've gone this long, that she forgot how bad of a strain the virus had on her body.

Her heart was aching, her legs were shaking, and she had to hold onto the edge of the counter just to keep from falling over.

Suddenly, her stomach clenched she covered her mouth, before scrambling to stand up straight and coughed heavily into the closest washcloth. Her throat was so dry it hurt her chest.

Once she stopped to breathe, she could taste a bitter tang on her tongue, and her knees locked from the chill that ran beneath her skin.

Afraid to look at it, Mayuki threw the rag to the floor and went for her pain relievers, but the room was spinning, and everything she tried to focus on was blurring into a weak haze against the background. Bottles of lotion toppled into the water in the sink before her hands found that tiny orange container, but her eyes were too fuzzy, and her mind too disoriented to open the lid.

Pain shook through her legs as her knees hit the floor, and the shock brought a ripple of static through her ears so loud she couldn't hear the water running. She grabbed the edge of the sink, in a fruitless effort to leave, but her hand slipped, and with no strength to save herself, her elbows dropped to the floor like lead.

 _What-_

 _She screamed, writhing under a burning sensation in her head. As if there was a besiege of fire surrounding her brain._

 _What's happening?_

Upon her body nearly out of sync with reality, her fingers found her discarded washcloth and her nails tore through it, until her palms felt a jaw sting.

 _Am I... dying?_

She gasped, clutching her shift as her heart stalled, stealing the air from her lungs. Her vision _blackened,_ and even while holding herself up, she felt her body falling.

 _But-_

"Mayuki!"

Someone yelled, but they sounded so far away. What did they say? She couldn't understand. Did they slur... or was her mind falling apart?

With his hair in disarray, Kaoru was out of breath as he stumbled into the bathroom, gripping the doorframe as he was about to fall.

" _May_ ," he gasped, eyes bulging wide in horror at the mess of his wife on the floor, half drenched, as the sink was overflowed.

His shoes squeaked against the marbled tile, almost slipping before he could even get to her. He collapsed, wrapping his arms around her shoulders to help her up, but she became dead weight against him, almost sending him backwards.

"I'm so sorry, Mayuki," his breath rasped in his throat, feeling her cold skin against his hands. "I'm sorry about everything. Just- just hold on to me. I'll fix this. I'll never-"

"No!" she cried, ripping his hands away. " _Don't_. Don't touch me."

She fell back, as the floor suddenly disappeared from underneath her hand. She tried to back away from this stranger, but her back hit the cabinet. She felt trapped.

"But..." he pulled his hands back so fast, as if they touched fire. "May-"

Mayuki brought her knees to her chest, wincing as she hid her face back into her hands. Pain dominated every cell in her body until she couldn't even feel water splashing onto her shoulder. The static behind her ears grew so loud it was like nails on a chalkboard. It was blinding.

Watching her fingers tremble, he reached out again, whispering. "Mayuki."

"No, _stop_!" her voice cracked into a desperate sob, jerking her hand out of his grasp. " _No_."

Kaoru flinched, pleading. "Please, just let me help you. I'm sorry-"

"No! I don't know who you are. Go _away_. He was reaching for her. She was scared. She'd never seen him before. Something in her mind was twisting images. Confusing her. She couldn't even remember where she was. "Leave me alone."

His heart clenched. While away, he had no idea it was affecting her this way. He shouldn't have listened to his gut. He should have come home sooner.

"May, please. I'm not going to hurt you."

He inched slowly, trying not to scare her. but this time she didn't move, so he sat on the floor right beside her, and waited for her to claw away again, but when she didn't say a thing, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his lap.

She was shaking, holding her head in her hands. As she fell limp against his chest, he wasn't sure if she was even aware of her surroundings anymore.

"Mayu?"

She didn't reply.

He sighed, curling his body around her as if to protect her from the demons he knew he couldn't touch.

He kissed her damp forehead, holding as tight as he dared without waking her up, listening to the water continue to flow into the sink.

He didn't want this.

"I'm sorry, Mayuki."

* * *

 _How do you change fate?_


	41. Chapter 41

**I Need You**

* * *

Hikaru's forehead furrowed into a scowl as he watch his grandmother pour herself a cup of herbal tea and rancorously bite into a pickle.

He had just gotten back from Haruhi's apartment. After that argument with Ranka and an embarrassing, accidental confession he let slip to him, he didn't hesitate to come home when his mother called, explaining that something was wrong with Mayuki, but he barely had enough time to get himself through the front door before his grandmother demanded that he meet her upstairs.

No one ever came into the second parlor anymore, and he wasn't sure if anyone ever did. It was full of spare furniture, boxes of rarely used china and other miscellaneous things he couldn't care enough to find out what. It was more of a storage room than anything else.

He scratched his foot against the floor.

But now that he was there, no one said a thing. The air was stiff, and the look of dreed on Kazuha's face would unease anyone else, but Hikaru was more annoyed.

"If it's about what happened last night, I'm not in the mood," he muttered, with his cheek between his teeth. "I already got yell at _once_ today-"

"It's not about that," She said, leaning into the sofa in the corner, eyes constantly wondering towards the window.

She was frustrating herself with a conversation from early that morning, that kept playing over and over again in her head, and the confliction between the decision of 'telling' and 'not telling'.

 _She glared, watching her daughter pace the perimeter of the living room. "He deserves to know."_

 _Yazuha whirled around, her face instantly turning a threatening shade of pink. "Don't you dare."_

 _"Everyone else knows." She argued. "You think he won't figure it out once he finds out about, Haruhi."_

 _"Haruhi's the reason why he can't know." They held an irritated gaze on each other before Yazuha caved, whined. "He likes her. What am I supposed to do? I didn't know she was a Nekozawa."_

 _"What she is shouldn't matter. You should have told him when you told him about the curse in the first place."_

 _"If you're so worried about it, why haven't you told him yourself?"_

 _"Because he's_ your _son."_

After twenty-four years, it was going to sting, but a harbored grudge was the least she was worried about.

"Sit."

Hikaru sighed, tossing his blazer over the edge of the other couch, before throwing himself into the closest chair. "I have no idea where Kaoru was last night, so don't ask me."

"It Doesn't matter. That's his problem." Kazuha sat back, disguising her insecurities properly behind her solemn stare. "This is about, Haruhi."

Hikaru immediately regretted ever agreeing to meet her. He threw his head back and groaned. No matter what the issue was, it was _always_ about Haruhi.

He swore, he'd hate her if he didn't like her so much.

"I don't want to _talk_ about, _her_ ," he complained.

She crossed her leg, turning her spoon around her tea. "Do you want me to tell your mother about what you two did in the back of that car?"

Hikaru was so unprepared, that he chocked on the air he inhaled, and his face turned an ugly color of grey.

"H-how did you-"

"Walls talk."

" _Oh my god_."

"Then shut up and listen."

Hikaru crossed his arms, biting his lips shut, considering on holding a staff-meeting to find out who was the gossiper, and to fire them immediately. He cursed under his breath, watching as his grandmother tapped her spoon against her saucer.

She took a deep breath, suddenly not feeling in the mood for anymore tea.

"Haruhi's a Nekozawa." She said.

"I know." His brow twitched. "Did Mayuki tell you?"

"A couple of maids called your father, demanding that he apologize for you and pay for all the damage you caused at their estate. Worth thousands apparently." She seemed amused by his annoyance at the sheer mention of them. "You were pretty upset that they took away your Haruhi, huh?"

He averted his eyes away, ignoring her suggestive tone. " _Tsk_. If this is about our " _relationship_ ", no comment."

"No," with an 'all jokes aside' fall in her voice, Kazuha looked at him. "I want to make sure you know what being with a Nekozawa is like. You even knew that being with a Nekozawa would break your curse, yet you still ran away from her."

Hikaru narrowed his eyes.

" _Why_?"

"What does that have to do with anything?" he asked bitterly.

"The Nekozawa's are cursed, too."

"I know."

"That means Haruhi is, too."

He let out a slow breath. "... _I know_."

"Do you?" her voice hitched with aggravation. "Being stuck to her like glue you probably forgot how long you can stay away from her. Just because you've finally gotten over yourself doesn't mean-"

"For someone who's been stuck to her like glue, there sure the hell has been a few close calls." He growled. "I didn't forget. Since my virus doesn't affect her, I pretend it doesn't exist."

It was never a secret why they never talk to each other alone. Yazuha always cursed her, telling her Hikaru got his attitude from her, and he might as well have. They were too similar that just a simple conversation always turned into an argument. She knew this one wasn't going to be easy, but she could feel her chest growing thicker with hot air, making her more irritable the longer she had to look at him.

"Haruhi's a Nekozawa, you can't pretend that doesn't exist."

"Now you have a problem with her? There wasn't an issue _before_ you knew."

"That was before anyone knew she was a, _Nekozawa_."

"What's the difference?"

"Because Haruhi's _dying_ , Hikaru!"

" _I know_!" he snapped, standing up so fast, he nearly sent the chair backwards. "But there's nothing I can do about it. She was cursed before I even knew her. You're the one who told us that we need the Nekozawa's to break the curse, so it's not like anything will happen-"

"It won't go away, Hikaru. Nothing is going to fix this." She admitted, through clenched teeth, watching his face tighten. "Nothing can help her. There isn't a cure to the curse. Because that crap about falling in love with a Nekozawa was a _lie_."

"... _What_?"

In that instant, a shock seemed to ripple through every nerve in his body. A cold chill ran down his spine and he lost grip on gravity, feeling back down into his chair.

He knew what was wrong with Haruhi. That's what made facing her, and confessing his feelings so hard. Her being related to the Nekozawa's never bothered him. Having their blood, and their illness course through her veins, did. Her skin was the shell of a ticking time-bomb, and he knew that, but she was a Nekozawa, and he'd grown up, convinced that falling in love with a Nekozawa would break the curse.

His feelings for her were the only thing he had that made him think he deserved her in the first place. He thought that once he allowed himself to love her, he could protect her. He thought that he just didn't love her enough yet. It had only been seven months. _Real_ love takes time.

But then it was supposed to work. The curse was supposed to break, and everything was going to be okay. It was supposed to work. He didn't care about him, but Haruhi was _supposed_ to be _okay_.

His hands balled into tight, painful fists at his sides.

"Then..." his throat clenched. "Then why did you tell us-"

"You were fourteen," Kazuha answered calmly. "What were we supposed to say? Your mother wanted to give you some sort of comfort. It wasn't ever supposed to matter. She didn't expect you'd actually fall for a Nekozawa. What were the chances of that?"

He barely had it in himself to talk anymore. His throat ran dry. "Y-you didn't have to _lie_."

"You were young-"

"I wasn't a _child_."

"But you know now," she muttered, "why you can't take time for granted. Are you really prepared? Haruhi's limited, and because of our curse, you are too."

"Well it's not like I have a choice." He exclaimed, not being able to mask his emotions anymore. They oozed right through his words.

"Does it make you regret it?"

" _What_?"

"Does knowing this make you regret falling in love with her? If you had known, you probably would have left her the second you found out she was a Nekozawa, wouldn't you have? Do you regret ever knowing her? Don't you feel as if you're throwing your life away now?"

Appalled, Hikaru pushed himself back to his feet. "I would have been throwing my life away no matter what. I don't care. Her life was always more important than mine. This makes no difference to that."

Kazuha watched his back as he stalked off towards the door. She caught a glimpse of his white knuckles. He was already upset, and this was only the half of it.

"You do like her then? You've accepted her feelings, and you've told her?"

Hikaru stopped. "I don't want to talk about this anymore."

She ignored him. "Do you love Haruhi enough, that you'd do anything for her?"

He tisked, thrusting his hand out to the doorknob. "It's none of your business."

" _Hikaru_ ," Her tongue was sharp as she hissed, " _Look at me_."

He fought the urge to ignore her again, to throw the door open to walk away, but he couldn't. With another growl, he ripped his hand off the door and turned back to her, holding a bitter stare. Not saying a word.

"...What would you do if you knew you could save her?"

* * *

Kaoru lowered his face in his hands.

He curled his fingers into his bangs, pressing his eyes into his wrists, sinking deeper into his chair.

 _His mother shook her head. "What were you thinking?"_

He'd never seen her look at him like that before. Her face stained with unspeakable disappointment. He didn't mean for this to happen. He always tried to protect her. He was convinced she needed him. That she's die without his help. She'd take medication until it made her sick. She'd challenge the weight of the virus, until he begged on his hands and knees. She'd rather die than let him help her. Even when flat on her face.

He didn't think it ran deeper than her stubbornness to submit, or her hatred for him. But it did.

When he'd loose grip on his sanity, and try to drown his emotions, and try to forget, his better judgement would conspire against him, and he made mistakes. Yet, every time, she would always be there, worrying about him. Waiting for him to come home.

Four years ago, they had another fight. It was the first time she told him that she didn't love him anymore. It destroyed him. He thought it couldn't get worse. But he did the unthinkable. He wanted to do something he'd never done, something unthinkable. Something alcohol would make sure he wouldn't remember. He got drunk, and in the mists of drunken ignorance, there was an accident. His car smashed straight into a light post. The front was totaled and the windshield shattered and fell apart.

He came home to her crying, and he promised he'd never drink again. But not matter how many times she kissed his face, and told him she was sorry, he knew she didn't forgive him.

Maybe she didn't love him anymore, but he knew she still cared about him, and he took it for granted.

 _"Go cry about it to your boyfriend."_

Kaoru groaned in disgust. Feeling sick to his stomach. Why did he say that to her? _... Idiot._

He was sinking deeper into his self-destruction, feeling his hands grow hotter against his face, when there was a sharp gasp beside him. He turned to the door, before he realized it had come from the bed.

He watched her hand grip the covers and he felt his heart jerk backwards. He panicked and jumped from his chair, almost tripping over his own foot.

" _May_ ," he gasped.

Her eyes were wide as she stared at the ceiling, panting as if she was out of breath. Her skin was paled to a frightening shade of white and as he touched her, she shook, jerking away as if she had just stuck her hand into a pit of fire.

She threw around her gaze, looking helpless and lost.

She looked into his eyes, looking as if she finally had something familiar to hold on to, and her face trembled, bursting into tears.

" _Kaoru_." She cried.

On the inside he was scared, afraid that she couldn't remember where she was, or who he was or why he touched her, but she said his name. She said his name and his heart started to pound. Finally he could breathe again.

His knees went weak and he collapsed, falling down on the bed beside her. He ignored a nagging voice in the back of his mind, telling him to slow down, but his instincts ran faster.

She flinched as she cupped her cheek, shutting her eye tight as he gently brushed away the tears off her lashes.

" _shhhh_ ," he breathed, "You're okay. Please don't cry."

She watched his brow twist in distress. She knew who he was. She had seen him before, but..., "Kaoru, I-"

 _Something's wrong._

"I'm sorry," his words would barely escapes his tight throat. They were held inside his chest until he felt confined and suffocated. "I didn't... mean to. I didn't want to hurt you again, but I-"

He moved to pull the wet washcloth from her forehead, and she shook as he wiped the cold water across her skin. She was so warm inside, but her skin was so cold that she laid into his hand as he fussed about her fever.

 _I don't understand._

Kaoru bit into his lip, pulling his sleeve his hand to dry her face. "I'm so sorry, Mayuki." he repeated.

He frowned. Yet, even if she was silent, tears continued to stream down her cheeks.

"May-"

"I saw her," her voice cracked. "It was, _Fumiko_. She did something."

His face fell, swiping away her bangs, feeling a strange sense of déjà vu. "It's okay. It was just a dream. It's over now."

" _No_ ," she exclaimed, grabbing his wrists ripping them away her face. "It still hurts. She did something. Something's _wrong_."

" _What's_ wrong?"

"I don't _know_."

 _I... I can't remember._

Conflicted, Kaoru used his only free hand to pry her fingers away and stood up. He couldn't see what she saw, but something was differently wrong. She wouldn't be this upset from a dream. Especially about someone she had never even seen before. Was she delusional from aftermath of her attack last night?

He felt sick. Seeing how much he was still hurting her.

"I'm getting the doctor-"

"Don't," she sat up, and grabbed the hem of his shirt before he could get away. "Please don't leave. I... I don't want to be alone."

He turned back, watching her knuckles turn white around his shirt, desperate enough to show that slither of weakness that broke his heart.

He took her hand and pulled her into his chest, holding her in a tight cage inside his arms. There was a strange bubble of something in his heart as she wrapped her arms around his back. Something he hadn't felt in a really long time, but it didn't feel right this time. Right now it felt wrong.

"You're okay, Mayu," he laid his nose in her hair. "Everything's going to be okay. I won't let her hurt you again."

She rubbed her face into his neck, trying to relax into something that she felt could be familiar.

She just didn't know why.

 _Kaoru..._

She just felt safe.

 _I don't know who you are._

* * *

 _"What would you do?"_

 _He face curled. "What are you trying to say?"_

 _Kazuha sighed. She felt his eyes boring into her back as she fumbled awkwardly with her hairpiece. "The Nekozawa's didn't take Haruhi because they wanted her. They just wanted her away from you."_

Hikaru fell against the wall as the wind closed the door behind him.

 _"It's not like they deny it." He scoffed. "I know what they were doing. I'm not an idiot. They want to get rid of us."_

 _She sighed again. "It's not just that."_

He stomach churned and his blood ran raw, sending a fervid chill under his skin. The air was too thick to breathe, as his lungs felt chafed. It was as though his soul had been stripped from his body, that was now just an empty shell, breaking under the weight of a disgusting manifestation of guilt.

The pain of betrayal swelled over his heart, weighing him down, crushing every ounce of sheer hope he had for comfort.

 _"There isn't a cure for the virus," she breathed. "but you should know that it's not going to_ _last_ _forever."_

 _"...What?"_

His hand tore into his hair, pushing back his bangs. Indignation lit a fuse to his core, igniting the anger he had tried to suppress under pure rational thoughts.

But those thoughts disappeared, and his arm lashed out, grabbing the neck of a lamp. It's cord ripped from it's outlet as he threw it, clear across the room. It's glass shattered, and the shade tore down a pictured frame from the wall, and it all fell in a cluttered heap on the floor.

He held his breath, hiding his guilty arm around his middle, shocked by his own actions.

"Ngh!" he hissed, throwing his shoulder against the wall as the sharp, as a sudden pain in his head was almost crippling.

 _"The curse was only made to last through twenty generations of Aritomo's blood line." Kazuha raised her eyes to look at him. Her expression unreadable. "Then it will cease to exist."_

 _Hikaru's eyes widened, but she continued._

 _"That means you and Kaoru are the last ones, but... since you were the first to be born," She paused. "...It really only belongs to you. You're the last link to the virus."_

He slid down the wall, now feeling that pain in his chest.

 _"What does that mean...?"_

He gasped, clutching his shirt, pressing his forehead against his knees, feeling the whole room sway.

It's happening again.

"It means..."

He winced. The pain blossomed in every pressure point in his body. He clenched his hands into fists around his hair to stop his fingers from trembling. It was so intense, tears built around his lashes.

"No." he managed through clenched teeth. " _Stop it_."

 _"It means... That once you die, the curse will be lifted." She closed her eyes. "It'll completely erase the Nekozawa's illness. They won't be sick anymore, and our virus... will disappear."_

 _"But... but that means-"_

 _"That's why," she looked down at her lap, hesitating to take another breath, "your mother didn't want you to know. She didn't tell you the truth, because you were already upset. She didn't want you to feel guilty."_

 _"It's been ten years." He exclaimed._

 _"But you didn't have a reason to live 'til now."_

His palm felt wet against his face. His head was fuzzy with static from the dissemination of figment voices, scratching at the walls of his mind. He was weak. Even as he stood, he could barely walk. Every step was like stepping on a cloud, and every step he thought he would fall through the floor.

 _"But if I-... Haruhi will-"_

 _"You have Haruhi now. You needed someone to give you a different perspective on life, because we were afraid you would throw yours away."_

His back hit the mattress.

 _"...Does Kaoru know?"_

His eyes blared wide at the ceiling, gasping for air he could breathe, but couldn't feel.

 _"He found out a long time ago."_

Hikaru rolled onto his side, clutching the covers closing his eyes until the pain ceased. The voices settled, their whispers disappeared. Everything ran silent, but his heart, that beat under his hand, pounding against his ribs.

He must've fallen asleep, he guessed, because when he opened his eyes again, his room was tinted yellow, from the sun falling behind the trees.

He sat up slowly, cupping his forehead in his hand, wincing at his migraine.

It was a hangover of defiant emotions, raging. If he could control himself more, maybe he wouldn't have so many attacks. Maybe it fed on his pain, twisting his call for help into a suicide plead.

But...

He rubbed his hand into his neck, glancing at his phone on the nightstand.

He needed help. He couldn't do it on his own.

Suddenly, being alone was terrifying.

He was scared to be alone.

He was afraid of his judgement.

He was afraid of himself.

 _But if I don't... Haruhi will die._

* * *

Haruhi raised an eyebrow, watching her father pick awkwardly at the vegetables on his plate. He was mumbling under his breath, and ignored at train of conversation she tried to have with him. At a time she caught him say the words, "Marriage", "playboy", and something along the lines of: "Can't have her".

Maybe she should cut back his tv hours. The show he was implying sounded _weird_.

While he was too wrapped up in his thoughts to notice, she gathered up her dishes from dinner and the ones he hadn't used, and went to the kitchen, dropping them in the sink to wash them off.

She sighed pleasantly when her phone suddenly rang.

Interrupted of the peacefulness, she contemplated on ignoring it, until she pulled it from her pocket and saw who it was.

She answered it instantly.

"Hikaru?"

There was a slight rustle, before a husky mumble rippled the static.

"Haruhi..."

She frowned. "What're you doing?"

He paused. "...I don't know."

Looking over her shoulder, Haruhi switched her phone to her other ear, and leaned against the cabinet, twisting her lips curtly. "Is something wrong? You sound sick."

"No. Not anymore."

"Then what did you call me for? Your timing is _impeccable_. You always show up when I'm bus-"

"I wanted to hear your voice."

Immediately, she cleared her throat, awkwardly switching her phone, again to her other ear. "You know what I sound like, Hikaru... What's the matter? Is it about this morn-"

"I need you, Haruhi," his voice cracked. "Take me away from this place. I don't want to be here anymore."

"Hika-"

"Please."

 _Please._

 _I don't know what to do anymore._


	42. Chapter 42

**Save Me**

* * *

 _He stuck his head into their bedroom, with a scowl imprinted on his face, irritated with lose of patience, from putting so much effort and time into finding his twin._

 _Fifteen minutes was a long time, especially if no one would tell him where he was._

 _His brother never took alone time away from him. That's nonsense. Unless.. he did something wrong to upset him. That was likely, but Kaoru would just yell at him. Not run away. That was just cruel._

 _"Kaoru?" He exclaimed, not expecting anyone to be there._

 _He threw the door wide open, and at loud thud it made against the wall, he caught him scrambling off the floor, wiping his sleeve violently against his face._

 _"Hikaru," he whispered, rubbing his eyes. "You make so much noise."_

 _"I was looking for you." He huffed, his face almost red. "What are you doing? What's wrong?"_

 _"N-nothing." Kaoru turned away to wipe under his nose, fixing his hair, trying to avoid his eyes purpose, but his walls were already crumbling. Why did he have to walk in on their conversation? why did they think he could keep this secret?_

 _His mother had gripped his shoulders. "You can't tell, Hikaru."_

 _"Kaoru, please," he tried not to let his emotions run wild on his face, but the desperateness in his voice was terrifying. "If you care about your brother you can't tell him. Please. You know how'll he'll feel."_

 _With a raging surge of older brother protectiveness, Hikaru dropped his bag in the doorway and stalked across the room, frowning even more once he turned his back towards him._

 _"What happened?" he demanded. "Why are you crying?"_

 _"I'm not crying."_

 _Hikaru grabbed his shoulder, and jerked him around. He ignored his perverted, "don't be so rough" joke and pinned him against the footboard._

 _Kaoru flinched as he stuck a finger under his lashes, grumbling as he pulled back a tear._

 _Hikaru glared at his wet finger before looking back at his twin._

 _"It's nothing."_

 _"It doesn't look like nothing."_

 _"I'm fine." Kaoru insisted, pushing away from him, stubbornly rubbing away his hand's presence. "I don't wanna talk about it."_

 _"Is this about the Host club again? I said I wasn't-"_

 _"It's none of your business, Hikaru."_

 _"It is when it's about you."_

 _"Well not this time."_

 _Those words hurt, more so than knowing that his brother was keeping something from him that was making his upset._

 _"But Kao-"_

 _He tried to follow him, but the bathroom door was slammed in_ _his face._

* * *

Hikaru bit his lip, as his nails chew into his palm. The back of his jacket skirted against the rough painted wall as he slid to the ground. The snow was soaked through his clothes, but his skin was so oppressively hot, that all he could feel was sweat runnig down the back of his neck.

His hair was wet and stuck to his fingers as he tore through his bangs, trying to find what was left of his sanity. The excessive static in the back of his mind was so loud he could barely hear himself think.

His vision clouded and he ducked his head between his knees, as the ground beneath him started to sway, making him sick to his stomach. Nameless voices echoed through both sides of his brain, creating a distended halo around all commonsense, hitting pressure points and suppressing the control he had over his own body until he had no will left to fight it back.

He couldn't tell if he was still sitting or if he had fallen over. Lacking all sense of direction, only his mind wandered, in completely darkness.

He could breathe but his lungs felt heavy. He tried to listen for something, and grasp some piece of reality, but a scream emitted from somewhere in the mists of all the static and he suddenly couldn't hear a thing. A gasp ripped raw through his throat, while oblivious to his own scream as a shock ran down his spine, making his blood run cold.

" _Hikaru_!"

He panicked as his hands were ripped from his face. His body wasn't prepared to hold itself up on it's own and he slipped on the snow, almost falling forward into someone's lap.

"What's wrong with you?" she gasped, and he flinched under the mist of her breath. "Don't yell like that- you almost gave me a heart attack."

"H-Haruhi-"

"What are you doing outside? Your hands are _freezing_."

His eyes felt swollen as threw his head back, wincing as she brought his hands against her chest. The fact that he was still outside had completely crossed his mind, and the moment her hand brushed against his cheek, he realized how cold he was.

It was a shock to his body when he regained feeling, and the noise stopped. He felt numb. His fever broke and the brisk air hit him, biting him like a thousand needles tearing through his nerves.

"How long have you been sitting here?"

He couldn't remember

Haruhi sighed, flicking snow of the top of his head. "Let's go inside. Your lips are turning purple."

He must not have been able to hear her, much less know she was there, as she had been trying to get his attention for the last few minutes. The look in his eyes was distant, as if he was lost, and had no idea where he was or what to say, or even if he could say anything at all.

It was like last night all over again.

When he had called her barely even two hours ago, she knew he was upset, but didn't think it was this wrong, or that he'd actually need help. She didn't know that he was this incapable of taking care of himself.

His fingers latched around her palm, tightly, like steel braces, and gave little to no effort into helping himself up as she tugged him off the ground.

She dusted off his shoulder and wiped the wet streaks away from his cheeks, mumbling how hopeless he was. He tried to wrap his arms around her, the moment she was close enough, but she shrugged him away.

"I could have gone to your house. It was closer." She said.

"I..." he pulled her hand away from his forehead. "I don't want to be there."

"Did you tell them where you'd be staying?"

He didn't reply.

"...We can talk about it when we get inside."

"I don't want to talk about it."

She looked down at the sudden, surrounded warmth around her hand and watched as he inspected her fingers and knuckles as if he was staring at a piece of precious china. The astray look on his face made her want to humor him, but...

"You know I can't stay."

He tightened his grip. " _Don't leave_."

Haruhi looked up uneasy at the sign of the hotel they were in front. She had work tomorrow. She really couldn't stay with him. It wasn't as if she could spend another getaway with him and ignore all her responsibilities because he was having another "fit".

The streets lights were already on, if she stayed even for a little while, she wouldn't be able to take another bus back home.

"Just one night." He whispered.

"But-"

"I didn't know what else to do."

She broke like a twig.

"Fine. One night." She swore. "Let's just get out of the snow first, _Please_. You're shaking."

Hikaru turned his shoulder towards the door, but he frowned. His mind was completely blank. He had no recollection of coming here. He couldn't remember where he was. Only was he was there.

He looked back at her with a distant expression.

She sighed again. Making sure he was still holding her hand, she led him to the hotel lobby, guiding him inside like a lost puppy, even sure he didn't bump into one of the pillars. He certainly didn't see them.

"Haruhi...?"

"Hhmm?"

"...N-nothing."

"Hm."

* * *

Kaoru breathed in deeply, closing and reopening his eyes, and occasionally scratching his hair, or anything at all to distract him from his near crippling embarrassment.

Water was moving around inside the tub behind him. Half of him wanted to turn around, but the more responsible side of him was convinced that he was too respectable and continued to just stare at the door.

At dinner, Mayuki told him to pick what food she ate, because staring at the menu the maids had overwhelmed her to the point she was almost in tears. As soon as she felt well enough to get out of bed, she wouldn't go anywhere without holding his hand, and refused to speak to anyone, even is mother.

Of course, he obliged to do absolutely anything for her, and did so in a heartbeat, but still couldn't help but feel as if something was wrong with her.

Because when she decided she was going to take a bath, she didn't want to unless he was with her.

He would have been more than happy to touch her, even be with her the way he has been for the last few hours.

But it had been a long time since he had seen her this indecent, much less be present while she bathed, and his dignity as a man had plummeted.

He would not be complaining if he wasn't so worried about her mental health.

Behind him, Mayuki pulled up a handful of bubbles, watching them slid down his wrist, focusing on every little detail of the soap, while her mind was drawing up a blank.

Something about the bubbles reminded her of something...

Kaoru twiddled his fingers, wondering if it was just the steam in the air that was making him this hot. He swore he was breaking a sweat.

Suddenly, there was a gasp and something fell into the water. He spun around so fast he almost slipped.

" _What_?" he panicked, his voice coming out in a squawk. "What happened? What's wrong?"

Mayuki didn't even blink as a water droplet rolled down her forehead, into her lashes. They looked eyes and she caught his worried look and, for a moment, she was too scared to open her mouth.

"...What is it?" he asked, operating purely on protective instinct. "Your face is red. _Ah_ \- I'll get you a towel."

She sunk back into the bubbles as he started rustling through the cabinet. "We're _married_."

He stopped.

"..."

"..."

He turned to her again, but her gaze was fixed on the water. "... _Huh_?"

Thinking she might have said something wrong, she sunk deeper into the water, until her lips were almost submerged. "... _Aren't we_?"

"Uh..." he cleared his throat. "Well _yeah_ , but..." He didn't know what to say, not sure if this was a trick question or not. " _Why_?"

She frowned, turning on her side, as watched as water slid down her arm as she slung it over the edge of the tub, petting her fingers over her wrinkled skin, not feeling much of anything anymore, as if her mind refused to register anything that touched her.

"I can't... remember what it looked like."

She didn't hear the sound of his footsteps, but heard the towel rack ' _clank_ ' against the wall. Before she could look up, a cold hand was pressed against her forehead.

Kaoru knelt down her level, pushing her bangs away to look into her eyes, trying to get her undivided attention, as it seemed she was stuck in a whole other world. "What, _what_ looked liked like?"

"...The wedding," she whispered. "I can't remember it. I can't remember anything."

He made a face. He wanted to joke and tell her he couldn't remember either, that he couldn't even remember what he had for breakfast yesterday, but she looked genuinely upset. It broke out the infatuated guilt from earlier. It made his chest so heavy he thought he might sink right into the floor.

The virus must've dug deeper into her memories than he thought.

He used the washcloth to wipe her brow, her cheek, and her eyes.

It was selfish to feel this comfortable. She couldn't remember what why she hated him, but no amount of this delusional affection would ever be worth her forgetting their entire relationship.

"That's okay," he breathed, cupping her hand, grazing his lips against her knuckles. "It was a long time ago."

Her eyes took a merciless turn and she pulled her hand away. "I want to get out."

"Ah- _okay_ ," he frowned, but stood up and reached for the towel from earlier. Maybe he said the wrong thing again? He wasn't used to her. He wasn't used to her feelings, or emotions that she used to show around him. He forgot how to treat them. She didn't have that steel gut or that chain around her heart. She was fragile now, and confused, and he was used to bitterness, and defiance.

Now he had all the trust in the world, and he didn't know what to do. He was almost scared of it.

He turned around-

" _Guh_! What are you doing?!" He choked, immediately turning his head.

She stood up from the water. "I'm getting out."

"Y-you're _nak_ \- y-your towel! At least _warn_ me first."

"...I thought we were married?"

"That's not the point!" Somehow, as he scrambled to the tub, with his eyes completely shut, he managed to wrap the towel around her. She stood completely still as if in a daze, as he tightened it around her chest.

His hands lingered around her shoulders a little too long. He cleared his throat and pulled away, stating that he'll drain the water and get her a hair dryer. She didn't say anything and just tried to step out of the tub.

Watching the room suddenly twist in a blurry haze, the floor waved under her foot. There was a hiss somewhere behind her ear, and she lost all sense of direction. She stepped into a puddle of water on the floor, and the world suddenly turned counter clockwise, and upside down.

She shut her eyes before she even screamed, as she fell, not even sure how to brace herself for impact of the floor when everything stopped, and her face fell into something soft and warm.

He dropped the cord for his hair dryer to catch her. His arms never wanting to let go ever again. "Be _careful_." He breathed.

"I-...I'm sorry." She whispered into his shirt.

Then, the whole surface disappeared from beneath her as he lifted her up in his arms. She threw her arms around his neck. "You're getting all wet."

He nodded. Water fell from her hair and ran down the base of his neck, but he didn't care.

For the first time in years, his lungs didn't burn. When he laid his nose against her bare skin, he didn't smell burnt charcoal. He didn't have the urge, like he always did when he got too close. He felt nothing.

She smelt sweet. The faint mixture of the bath salts and shampoo. _Flowers?_ Soft and wrapped in comfort.

He missed this _so much_.

"...Kaoru-"

" _I love you_."

She frowned.

It just slipped out, while lost between sheer bliss of his day dream and reality, bit he felt, that this time he wouldn't be rejected. Even if this was how things were now, or if it was just temporary, he felt like he wouldn't be pushed away. That'd he'd be accepted this time. That he'd hear it back.

But this time, he was just ignored.

* * *

The moment she stepped into the room Haruhi unraveled her scarf from around her neck, and slipped her jacket off of her shoulders. Then, had to help Hikaru with his own coat, as he stood in a daze, staring at the floor.

Even after she told him to take a warm shower, he can out clothed, but dripping wet. She had to dry his hair with a towel before she allowed him to touch her.

When she had talked to the woman at the counter, it was no wonder that Hikaru couldn't remember what his room number was. Because he hadn't gotten one at all. He could have sworn he did, but in reality, he had just sat in the cold for the last hour.

She wanted to know how much of that time he had spent, holding his head, talking to himself.

Since he hadn't paid for a room yet, she contemplated shoving him out the door, demanding him to go back home, to work out whatever issues he had with his family, but she was a sucker. She now lived with the proclaimed motto: Whatever Hikaru wants, Hikaru gets.

So she was here.

In a hotel. 25 miles away from her apartment.

Alone with, Hikaru. Who was emotionally, and maybe a bit mentally, unstable.

At nine o-clock at night.

She sighed. She left her house in such a hurry she didn't even think of the consequences.

"Have you eaten?"

He didn't reply.

She fidgeted against the throw pillow on the tiny sofa, pressed against it, and Hikaru's clingy body.

She cards her fingers through his hair as he laid his head on her lap.

"Hikaru... You called me here to help you," she breathed. "but I don't know what to do. I can't help you if you don't talk to me. "

He stretched his arms around her waist, and hid his face against her middle, hiding his mumble in her shirt.

" _W_ _hat_?"

"...That's not it," he said quietly turned over again, facing the room. "I just don't want to be alone."

"I would have felt batter knowing you were home. Not sitting in the cold," she admitted, hovering her finger over the mark on his neck, that was beat red from his shower. "You know Kaoru would have spent all night with you. You don't have to be alone all the time."

"Kaoru lied to me."

"So you ran away?"

"I didn't _run_ away," he spat, flopping over on his back to look at her. "Why do I have to be with Kaoru when I can be with you?"

Haruhi lowered her eyes. "Because he's your brother."

"Well it doesn't feel like it."

Well what if one day I can't come to you if you need help? What are you going to do?"

He gave her a look as though she had just slapped him for no reason. "Why wouldn't you come?"

"Because Haruhi's dying, Hikaru."

"You always come after me." He defended. "Even when I don't want you to."

"I know but-"

"So you have to come. No matter what."

"Hika-"

"You have to do what I say."

"I want you to take care of yourself." She huffed, covering his mouth with her hand before he could interrupt again. "I like that you reply on me, I can't be at your back and call all the time."

He stared at her for a moment, before stubbornly taking her hand against his chest and curling back up against her. "I did take care of myself." He muttered. "That's why I called you."

"You're not listening."

"What do you want me to say? I didn't know what else to do." He squeezed her hand, his voice falling flatter until she had to stain to hear him. "I don't know what's wrong with me. I was afraid if I didn't call you, I'd do something stupid. You're right. I can't take care of myself. I'm pathetic."

"That's not what I meant." She tried to pull away her hand, but he wouldn't let go. "...I worry about you. I don't want you getting hurt."

He was always getting hurt. He was always hurting himself. He had probably stopped caring about his physical image a long time ago, because the moment he had stepped out of the bathroom, she saw the scars on his arms, the bruises on his hands, his cheeks and forehead red from scratch marks. The bags under his eyes.

The way he looked thinner because he refused to eat.

How long has he tortured himself like this because he knew no one would noticed?

But then, when someone does notice...

She slid his head off her lap, leaving his to lay on one off the pillows. Then, stood up and walked away.

Hikaru panicked and slipped off the couch. He threw himself against her back and she gasped, feeling the wind knocked out of her as they both almost fell to the floor.

"No _wait_ ," he choked, tightening his arms around her ribs, pulling her as close as he could. "I'm sorry. I won't talk anymore... Please don't leave."

...He lets them see everything.

Probably even more than he realizes.

She reached behind her shoulder, until her hand found his cheek. "Hikaru," she stared at the floor. "I'm just going to get ice."

He hid his face in her hair.

"You have a fever. You have to let me go."

" _No_."

Haruhi pried his arms away, and pushed herself away. She could hear him pout and saw the look dejection on his face, as if already preparing himself to be alone again, as he was left empty handed.

He _was_ , until she stepped right back into the circle of his arms. Before he could trap her again, she grabbed his hands, holding them in a ball against her chest. He looked at her as if he had just been beaten, and was caving against her, begging her to comfort him.

"How am I supposed to only stay one night when I can't even go to the other side of the room?" She scoffed, stepping away as he tried to lean on her. "I'm leaving tomorrow morning. How am I supposed to take care of you like this?"

He took a step closer, until she felt his breath on her forehead. "...It would be easier if you were my girlfriend."

She tried to ignore the sudden jerk in her chest. "But... I'm not."

He seemed hurt that her automatic response wasn't: _"Yes, Hikaru! a thousand times yes! I'll be your girlfriend as we'll live happily ever after!"_

Was the redness of his face from his fever, or was he blushing?

"We'll... You _could_ be."

"Are you asking me to be?""

He grumbled. "I would have thought that that was obvious."

She loosed her hands from his. "I mean, I could leave right now if you-"

"For gods sakes, _yes_. I'm asking you to be my girlfriend. _God_."

She laughed. "I'd still go to work tomorrow."

"I _don't_ understand."

"You're not my main priority!"

"Sense _when_?"

 _Ah._

 _She walked right into that one..._

"Sense right now. I can't drop everything now just because you're my boyfriend."

He nearly choked on thin air. " _Boyfriend_?"

"Don't be embarrassed. You asked _me_."

"You can't just say it so casually like that! I wasn't prepared to hear it _out loud_."

Suddenly, they both jumped, hearing a loud thump from under their feet, and an muffled old voice.

 _"_ Would you quiet down? I'm tryin to sleep! _Crazy concubines..."_

 _"..."_

 _"..."_

He looked down. "...I think he was talking to you."

"Shut up, Hikaru."


	43. Chapter 43

**Corner Me**

* * *

Hikaru opened his eyes from a tightness in his chest. He twisted his body until the blankets fell off his shoulders and a cold gust of air from the AC pulled his mind out of the fuzzy gutter of sleep.

He scratched his head and flipped over, mumbling under his breath about the hardness of the mattress, and wondered how that could be. It wasn't this uncomfortable last night, and not this cold.

"Haruhi, you left the cooler on," he groaned. His voice husky from fresh sleep.

His hand patted the blankets, searching for her, to pull her closer, to find that special kind of warmth he didn't need a blanket for, but she didn't respond. She didn't even try to swat him away.

Something crinkled under his hand.

His heart jerked inside his chest and he raised himself on his elbows, suddenly feeling crushed in the room that felt a whole lot bigger, now, than it did a few moments ago.

He turned to the bathroom, where the door was wide open but no sounds came from it. The kitchen was spotless, all the takeout was in the trash-bin. His clothes were folded on the chair. There was a sweet scent in the air, but as he looked to find where it was coming from, he found that it wasn't a female's perfume, but a plate of room service breakfast on the nightstand. Even the blankets beside him were smothered out and tucked under the mattress. The other pillow was fluffed and placed neatly nest to his.

There was no trace of her. It was as if she hadn't been there at all.

He fell back against his pillow.

The room felt stiff.

He turned on his side, pulling her old pillow under his chin, pouting about having to wake up alone.

He stuffed his face into the pillow, but she wasn't there long enough to leave her presence. It didn't smell like her. It just smelt _clean_.

As he snuggled back into the blankets, having no intentions of getting up, when there was that crackle sound again. He slipped his hand into the bundle of blankets, pulling out a wrinkled piece of paper.

A love letter from his new girlfriend?

 _"Eat breakfast, before the medication. It's for your fever._  
 _Your shirt is ironed._  
 _Go home. - Tell Kaoru you love him."_

 _Ah... she's bossing me around and she isn't even here._

He wanted to laugh, especially at the very Haruhi-like way she showed that she cared, but there was a strange feeling in his chest. It was blooming into something warm and precious. Something he hadn't felt in so long, and something he didn't think he ever felt before.

As soon as he caught himself smiling dopily at the note, he rubbed his face, and tossed the note on the table. It had been so long since he felt like this that he didn't know what to do with himself.

 _But..._

He glared at the ceiling, before flopping over on his stomach.

When she said that she couldn't stay, he didn't actually think she wasn't going to _stay_.

* * *

She woke up as she tried to move her hand, but couldn't. There was a tightness around her that she wasn't used to. It was confining and she panicked. Something warm ran up along her back, and her body jerked away from it so hard, she almost fell out of bed.

"May-"

A hoarse voice mumbled into the pillow beside her, but the last thing she remembered was being alone, and where she was, was a blur. This isn't where she was before.

She was struck with a cold breeze as she sat up, and immediately scrambled to pull the covers over her chest. It was then she realized she wasn't in the clothes she was in yesterday. This was a silk nightgown she'd seen before.

Her heart was pounding so fast her breath caught in her throat.

She was lost.

Until the figure beside her shifted again, wrapping their arm around her waist. Her skin felt _raw_. It was a man.

"Don't worry. It's just a dream," he said, half asleep, while trying to tuck her back under the covers. "I'm right here. Go back to sleep-"

Their voice finally settled into that missing slot of her memory, and the horrified gasp that emitted from her throat was so sharp it could've sliced through thin air.

" _Kaoru!"_

 _"..Hm?"_

He probably wished it was a dream, as not a moment passed after opening his eyes did a pillow hit him smack dab in the face.

Still trying to drift out of sleep, he chuckled, although less out of amusement and more in pure irony.

"I sense a strange case of déjà vu," he mused. This was what he was used to. Until the events of last night came back to him, and he caught a glimpse of the look on her face. Already on the verge of tears.

He threw the pillow off of his lap, clinging to her in a panic. "What happened? What's wrong?"

She slapped his hand away. "W-what's wrong- Wh-.. You're in my bed!"

Kaoru blinked. Because that didn't sound right...

"No..." He rubbed his face as he looked around. "This is my room."

He turned back to her. Her hands curled around the blankets. He fingers were shaking. She was scared, and he was scared to touch her, so he shifted away, knowing that this wasn't the Mayuki he had last night.

Her hand gripped at the fabric of the nightgown, but it wasn't what she thought it was. This was what she wore on their wedding night.

"Why am I wearing this?"

He looked down. "It... Well it was all I had-

"Why do _you_ have _this_?"

"You... never took it ba-"

"Why am I in _here_?"

Kaoru flinched feeling her heated gaze, but refusing to look at her. "Do you not remember anything?"

She glared, grabbing the edge of her pillow. "Does it _look_ like I-"

" _No, no, no_ , wait okay! I'm sorry." He grabbed it before she could throw it at him. "I'm sorry. This is my fault. I didn't want to leave you alone last night, so we slept here, but Nothing weird happened. And I didn't look while you changed, I swear!"

He shut his mouth, easing away from her, as her face twitched, and her hand clenched around the blankets in a fist.

"Does... this mean you remember me now?"

"I... can't remember what happened last night."

"Nothing," he swore. "Nothing happened. It's my fault you forgot. But I didn't know what else to do-"

"You're right," Mayuki watched her hands turn white. "It _is_ all your fault. This is _all_ your fault."

He winced. "But-"

"Where _were_ you?" she demanded. "You're worried about sleeping in your own bed but you'll leave for three days? I called you, so many times. You didn't even read my messages. I didn't know where you were. I didn't know what you were _doing-_ "

"Mayuki-"

"I _waited_ for you."

He frowned. "I know... I'm sorry."

"You're _always_ sorry." She threw the blankets away from her, purposely trying to throw it _at_ him. "You don't know how to do anything else but apologize. If you spent half the time you do on being sorry and-" She stopped, hearing him muffle a laugh.

Her eyes darkened. "Is this funny?"

"No," he grinned.

"You're not even listening!"

"I'm sorry," he laughed behind his hand. "I can't help it. I just love you so much."

Her face turned red, and he laughed again. His own face was turning a different color as it was obvious he was trying to stop himself, but he couldn't. This was just... so much better. He never knew he could feel this happy getting yelled at.

"I hate you." She huffed.

"No, _May_ , wait." he lounged for her hand. "I'm sorry. It's just... I was scared you weren't going to wake up, and when you did... You didn't remember anything-"

" _So_."

He chuckled. "I'd rather you be mad at me than not remember who I am."

She ripped away from his grasp. "That makes one of us."

"C'mon Mayu, don't be like that," he pouted, reaching for her hand, lacing through her fingers, and held on tight enough she could pull away. "Don't get up yet. Stay in a little longer. Just until you feel better."

A shiver climbed up the base of her neck as his arms came around her waist. She felt the warmth of his chest against her back, through the thin fabric of her nightgown. As much as her pride would like to say otherwise; she was comfortable.

"I'm fine." She argued. Again, she pried out of his arms. "You've been a big enough help already-"

"No, Mayuki, I'm not done," This time, he grabbed her shoulder. Any lighthearted humor vanished from his tone. His expression was almost pained. "About what happened earlier. I was out of line. I shouldn't have brought up your... _therapist_. It's none of my business, and... I shouldn't have thought you were seeing someone. Afterwards I didn't know what to say to you. That's why I didn't come home. I spent the nights at the office, I lost track of time. I didn't feel any different so I thought you were okay, but when I came back that morning I found you in the-"

"It's okay, Kaoru." She interrupted him, releasing his hand from her arm. "I didn't tell you I was seeing a therapist because I didn't want you to think it was your fault."

He had his hand locked with her, until she walked too far away. Then the clasp came apart.

If it was possible to heart your heart breaking, he was sure he heard it just then.

"But, Mayuki-"

"But it's okay. You and I both know it was over between us a long time ago."

He held his breath until he watched the door shut.

* * *

Cups clanked and slid across the table, as a short, stubby maid served tea and Takoyaki. It was quiet, as nobody had anything to say.

Family time was always so awkward, and there was always too many empty chairs. It was as pleasant as the maids tried to make it feel, with bitter, newly arisen gossip about the Hitachiin's, what the gardener found in the flowerbeds, what dirty secrets a chambermaids had with one of the chauffeurs.

And as much as that was appreciated, there was a gap in the air. A heavy, vacant hole that always seemed to linger around them. Something that never was a problem for the Hitachiin's. Something _he_ was envious of.

There was once a time, where there house of bright. There was hosted dinner parties, the house staff enjoyed what they did. Their parents were together and happy. The illness was acknowledged, but no one spoke about it.

But that was a long time ago.

Things were different now, After their mother passed away, so did the everything else. Their father moved to Europe. They haven't see him in years. And the household closed to curtains to anything outside of their private dome. Their mansion had turned into it's own world, drowned in it's own sorrowful reality that almost seemed unreal.

If there was something that kept fuel to the fire of this horrendous feud, it was that they were _so_ different.

As Umehito looked across the table at his little sister, he watched her wide eyes flick through a fashion magazine, dedicated to the clothes industry's favorite craze: The Hitachiin's.

She was fascinated by them. Everything around them was so bright and colorful. In every picture the media captured, they were smiling. The proclaimed happiness burned his eyes, but she admired them. In an argument, she once admitted that she wised she was one of them.

He hated them for that.

As the maid refilled her teacup, Kirimi folded her magazine in her lap. Her expression tense as she looked out the window.

"I feel weird." She spoke up, pressing her hand against her chest. "Like... something bad is going to happen."

He raised his brow and looked out the window. Nothing was out of the ordinary. The wind was blowing particularly hard that afternoon blowing rain drops against the glass, destroying the lawn work. One of the bird bathes had even

"Maybe there will be a storm and the house will catch fire." He riposted.

"No. Not that kind of something," she frowned. "...I can't explain it."

"Hmm."

"Maybe it's something _sad_." She mused. "That's why its raining today."

Umehito opened his mouth, but before he could reply with something to shook down her lame foreshadowing, another maid poked her head in the door, with a phone in her hand. She said one of their trading partners were on the line, and that it was argent.

As her brother excused himself from their "Tea party" Kirimi pulled the plate of Takoyaki closer to her side to finish them off. She bit into one and looked out the window again, watching the leaves blow off the trees, and cover what was left of the snow on the ground.

She pulled up her magazine, dipping herself in a different reality that was so much better than her own. And while it was something to think about, it wasn't important.

She hoped it wasn't.

* * *

Hikaru stared at the doorknob to the grand door of their mansion, as if it had personally offended him.

He was starting to hate it here. Even stepping foot in the entry hall he felt... weighted down. There was hatred embedded into the walls, and they were closing in like a cage.

A maid squealed and fumbled a pile of linens as she was coming out of the hall closet.

"W-welcome back, Mr. Hitachiin." She stammered, quickly shutting the closet door to hide her mess.

"Where is he?" he demanded.

"I...I don't know. I believe he's upstairs."

She flinched as he walked past her, but he ignored that. And any other "welcome back, sir" _'s_ went over his head. The staff was half thankful for that. Judging from the look in his eyes, they didn't exactly want him looking them.

He shrugged off his coat and threw his bag down in his wake as he climbed the stairs, not hearing an aggravated sigh from another maid as she went to pick them up. Nothing existed to him except for the voice in his head that kept screaming at him to stop, and the phone in his hand that had been glued there since this morning.

 _He had just shut the door to his hotel room, and gave a sour look towards the snow as he adjusted his cuffs. He shoved his hand into his pocket, looking for his car keys, when his phone rang. Thinking it was Haruhi, he answered it immediately._

 _"Yeah?"_

 _"Hey, Hikaru."_

 _He tried not to sound too surprised . "Kaoru?"_

 _There was an awkward pause. "...Where are you?"_

 _He looked up to glance around his surroundings, at the place hid delusioned adventures had left him last night. "I honestly have no idea."_

 _"Where are you going?"_

 _"I'll decide in the car. Why?"_

 _"...Can I talk to you?" Kaoru asked._

 _The sound of his voice made him hang up instantly._

Everything else was a blur as he scanned the upstairs, but no one was there. He heard his parent's voices behind one door. He knew what they were arguing about the moment he heard his name, but this time he wasn't interested in eavesdropping.

The second he found the door he was looking for, he stopped in his tracks. It was locked, so he knocked. And he waited, not hearing a thing from the other side.

Maybe he'd use this moment to catch his breath, or clear his head, but that wasn't Hikaru. He tapped his foot, and knocked again, cursing under his breath about how stupid he was, and wondered... How could this have happened? How could he have _let_ his happen? At what point did it fall apart like this? But when it did, and for whatever reason it was, it was his fault.

At least that's what the voce in his head kept telling him. And that had started a war in his mind.

He didn't want to talk to his brother. He didn't even want to look at him. He lied to him for so long. The last thing he wanted to do was _talk._

Time ran out for him to spend anymore time to basking in his inner thoughts, the door opened and-

Kaoru blinked. "...Hika-"

He took one look at his twin's face, and the voice finally stopped. He looked into his swollen eyes and knew he had been crying, and probably took so long opening the door to try and cover that up.

Hikaru pushed the door out of his hand, and before Kaoru could ask him what was wrong, he threw himself against him, throwing his arms around his shoulders, so that he couldn't even think about pushing him away.

He may have lied. He may have held onto a burden that meant for him. And he may have intervened with him life, and in places that he shouldn't have.

But he was his brother.

And holding him was the only thing he knew how to do.

Kaoru hid his face in his shoulder, listening to his heavy heartbeat. He was breathing hard against him, which meant he probably ran to him. He should have known that when he had hung up on him, that he didn't hate him. Now he felt silly.

" _I'm sorry_."

"...I'm sorry, too, Kaoru."

He hesitated, tightening his arms around him. "Grandmother said that... you found out."

Hikaru laid his hand against his hair. "Yeah."

"I'm sorry," he repeated. "I'm sorry that I kept it from you. I didn't _want_ to know."

"I'm sorry I called you crazy when you said you were having dreams about Fumiko. I'm sorry I didn't tell you about, Haruhi. Or when I didn't tell you why your-"

"That's enough, Kaoru." He sighed. "I'm not mad anymore."

Kaoru stopped, taking a breath, to try and accept the weight of this situation. The fear made his chest tighten.

He was scared to ask. "...What are you going to do? What did Haruhi say?""

Hikaru breathed, pulling his arms away. "She said we'll deal with it."

"You didn't tell her, did you?"

"She doesn't need to know." He huffed. "It's not her business."

"Well technically-"

"You kept it from me for ten years."

" _Yeah_ ," his voice strained. "But... I don't think you _have_ ten more years-Ow!"

"And don't say anything," Hikaru grumbled, flicking his twin's forehead. "Let me deal with it."

Kaoru frowned, watching as his brother kicked the door shut, before throwing himself on the bed, looking like he was getting comfortable for another _long_ talk. And by the look on his face, that's exactly what he was in for.

"That's what I was afraid of..." He finally said.

* * *

 _Someone on the floor below him screamed. It sounded like his mother, but he was too petrified to move. There was a man. He was yelling. He thought he should go check, because it wasn't his father, but she had told him that no mater what, he couldn't leave his room._

 _Things were thrown, glass was shattering, and the screaming grew louder. Whoever it was that came to their house was angry. It must not have been the milk man, like he thought. His mother was scared when she hurriedly locked the door in front of them, begging him not to make any noise._

 _His little sister squirmed, rubbing her tear stained cheeks into his shirt. "...Kaede."_

 _"Shhh!" He hissed._

 _There was one last shout before everything was silent. He held his sister tighter, muffling her crying against his chest until the footsteps stopped._

 _They waited hours for their mother to come back upstairs, but she never did._


	44. Chapter 44

**True Colors**

* * *

It had been three days since Haruhi found Hikaru sitting on the pavement, covered in snow. Three days since he asked her to be his girlfriend, and three days since Haruhi had practically moved into the mansion with his family, (much to her father's disapproval).

Tonight made it their third night in a row that they've slept together in the same bed, and Haruhi just managed to fall asleep two hours ago. If it wasn't her thoughts keeping her awake, it was Hikaru insisting on touching, and awkwardly rubbing up against her, for no particular reason other than to just keep her up.

Hikaru wrapped his arm around her waist and grabbed her hand, rubbing his nose against her ear, whispering something about how soft she was before she shrugged him off.

It was only a few minutes before he crawled back over to her, kissing her fingertips, then her palm, and ran his lips all the way up her arm. She tried to roll over when he started nibbling her shoulder, but he locked her in his arms and held her tight against his chest.

"Hika," she groaned. "Go to sleep."

"I can't," he said against her hair, laying another kiss on the side of her neck. "Lets play a game."

"It's one in the morning."

"Whoever can hold their breath the longest has to be the little spoon."

"I'm going to murder you, and then I'll tell your family that I did it on purpose."

"Such a spoiled sport," he muttered, but there was a ring in his tone and pulled her even closer. "It's your day off tomorrow isn't it? We can stay up as late as we want. And I've been incredibly deprived of you."

"You've touched me, _all day_."

"You should make love to me."

"Wha-? n-... _no_."

She wiggled out of his grasp and pushed him away to his side of the bed, when she wrapped herself in the blankets in the corner. Which left him to entertain himself by making shadow puppets on her back, out of the moonlight from the window. He's swallowed a yawn, so he knew he was tired and would fall asleep soon, but she beat him to it, so she had no idea what time he had finally dozed off.

The next time she opened her eyes, the mattress was shifting beneath her, and the blankets had been thrown down to the edge of the bed. While asleep she must have rolled into the middle, because now, her shoulder was pressed against Hikaru's warm back.

She opened her eyes wide enough to glance at the clock on the dresser. It read 3:46, so she stuffed her arms under her pillow and turned on her side, squeezing her eyes shut.

She was close to falling back to sleep, when the mattress shifted again. The warmth from Hikaru's arm brushed against her side, as he rolled onto his back. Finally, she had enough and sat up, reaching over to the nightstand to turn on the lamp.

"Hikaru." Haruhi hissed, about to go on a rant of how painful she was going to make his death but she stopped, feeling his fingers grip the fabric of her sweatpants. His knuckles were white, and his breathing came in short, ragged gasps, as if they were trying to rip through his chest.

"Not again," she sighed, sitting up. She ran the back of her hand over his cheek, watching his forehead tense, and his brow curl into a knot. It was cold, yet sweat framed his face. "Hikaru, _wake up_."

He tossed his head as she pressed her hand against his chest, and a painful hiss escaped between his teeth. His skin was on fire, and his heart was beating fasting than she could count. Her fingers brushed away his bangs as she held his face, trying to soothe him awake, but he just turned over, ending on his side, almost completely in her lap.

He cried out, and she panicked. She grabbed onto his hand, and held it against her, but he ripped it away from her, and held his head, tearing his fingers through hair.

" _Hika_ ," her voice was pained, staring at him desperately.

Every night since she had moved in, he's woken up, sometimes screaming, from a recurring dream. Whatever this constant fear was, it was hurting him, and this time he was stuck inside.

Tears built behind his hands, but she couldn't pry them away, and he couldn't hear her.

She grabbed his shoulder, shouted his name so loud that maybe the entire second floor of the mansion heard her, and shook him until his eyes finally opened. His first awaken breath was a raw gasp.

His hands flew away from his eyes finally able to see more than just the hazy pictures that he was trapped inside of, and the very first thing he saw was her face, brown hair striking up in odd ends, and her hands, holding him down.

He was still _there_.

At least that's what his mind thought.

He screamed, and Haruhi had no time to react before he threw his arms out, hard into her chest, shoving her back onto her hands. The wind was completely knocked out of her that she didn't make a sound.

Hikaru didn't stop. She was still stuck in shock, trying to catch her breath, that he took her moment of weakness, ad pushed her down into the mattress. He couldn't stand being so defenseless. He couldn't stand her holding him down, clawing against his shirt, touching his skin, and kissing his neck. He hated the voices in his head, telling him to let go, and to give her everything. He hated feeling like her object.

Haruhi inhaled so sharply her throat stung. His hands held all his weight on her shoulders, pushing her deeper into the sheets, that she cried out. She looked up to him, and his eyes were distant and wild.

He was tired of being _used_.

He raised one of his hands in a fist.

But...

" _Agh_ \- no! _Hikaru_ , _stop_!" She screamed.

This wasn't, Fumiko.

She shrunk back, not being able to cover her face. She closed her eyes, and held her breath, but... nothing happened.

Hikaru stopped, and dropped his hand, hiding it against his chest. He looked around, and noticed everything in his room was back to the way it was when he had fallen asleep. He looked down and she opened her eyes just in time to see the horrified look flash across his face.

" _Haruhi_." He choked.

" _Get off_." she said quietly, and immediately he scrambled to sit up straight.

"Haruhi, I-" he stuttered, still in a half awake daze. "I didn't mean-... That wasn't _me. I-..._ " he watched her throw the heap of blankets out of her way. " _Haruhi, wait_."

He reached for her, but she smacked his hand away.

"Don't _touch_ me." She growled.

He didn't listen, and just before she could leave the bed, his fingers latched around her wrist. She whirled around, and raised her free hand to slap him away again, but stopped.

She tensed, looking into his eyes, that had softened, and now were bloodshot and afraid.

"Did I hurt you?" he whispered, caressing up her arm to her shoulder. "Let me see-"

" _No_." She jerked away, and he could have swore he felt a rush of cold air as she turned her back to him, ripping her sweater off the head of the armchair.

He panicked as he watched her leave for the door, but his legs wouldn't move. "W-where are you going?"

"My own room."

" _But_ -!"

Hikaru flinched as the door slammed shut, the silence surrounding instantly.

He collapsed back onto the bed, staring at the door knob, waiting for her to come back. He tried keeping his breathing steady, but his heart started pounding.

 _But..._

" _Ngh_ ," he covered his face, as a sharp pain started to bubble somewhere in his head. Voices were telling him to go after her, other were telling him to find the pair of scissors he hid in his dresser, until eventually, he collapsed onto the bed, shaking, letting the noises completely consume him.

 _But I don't want to be alone._

* * *

"Hmm..."

The entire downstairs was so quiet and empty, whistling echoed down the staircase and throughout the halls. It was a snow day, so everyone had stayed home today, yet he hadn't seen anyone either. His wife even locked herself in her room today, which wasn't a surprise, but he should have at least bumped into her this morning.

Kaoru stuffed his hands into his pockets and peaked around the corner of the dining hall. The household staff even took the day off. It made the house feel even bigger than it was when there wasn't any boisterous maids gossiping and making noise. And what was his brother doing? still sleeping?

He pouted. _How boring_.

After a moment he shrugged. Between him and Mayuki, and his mother and Grandmother refusing to talk to each other, he figured it was probably for the best that everyone lock themselves in their room. At least they weren't _fighting_.

He pushed open the flip door to the kitchen and instantly had an eye affair with the cookie jar on the counter.

He hummed and rolled up his sleeves, before shameless making his way over to it. Maybe he'd go out today, he thought, popping open the lid, plucking out a lollipop. _Maybe go for a run. Cold air is refreshing._ He made a face and picked out a different flavor. The blue ones tasted funny.

 _Hmm, or maybe go shopping._

He pulled the wrapper off and polled the red sucker into his mouth, and-

" _Ah!"_ He squealed and almost dropped the jar on the floor, just now noticing someone siting at the table.

" _Rude_." He huffed, looking at the head of messy brown almost completely tucked under a hood. "...Haruhi?"

Curled up on one of the chairs, Haruhi raised her head off her arm, squinting at the look of his face. Thinking it was someone in particular, she was going to ignore him, but it wasn't. It was just his brother.

She laid her head back down.

He raised his brow, pulling his lollipop out of his mouth to lick his lips. "Whatcha-... Whatcha _doin_?"

"Sleeping. I'm _tired_." She mumbled, despondently, hoping that it would put him off so that she could get maybe another hour of peace by herself.

There was a few moments of silence before she heard the chair beside her scrape against the floor, and felt his arm drape over her shoulders.

She sighed. Or maybe _not_.

"I wouldn't doubt it," he said airily with a chuckle, giving her shoulder soft pat. "We haven't gotten to talk recently. How's the dating life treating you so far? Hikaru said you guys made it official. That's _e_ _xciting_."

Haruhi shrunk back into her chair, contemplating whether to say anything at all. "We... got into a fight last night." She admitted quietly.

"Ah, so that's what it was," he nodded, rolling the sucker to the other side of his mouth, throwing himself into the back of his chair. "My room is right next to Hika's, so I thought you guys just decided to be adventurous really early in the morning."

"I..." she hesitated, reaching for the cup of coffee she mad herself earlier. She looked at the glass, deciding her next few words as carefully as she could. They'd been weighing on her chest all morning. "I _really_ messed up, Kaoru."

His brow knotted as she pushed her cup away and hid back behind her hands. "What'd you mean?"

She took a pause to breathe but her breath shook. "With coming here. Trying to be with Hikaru. I really... Didn't think it through."

"That bad of a fight, huh?" he sighed, pulling out his lollipop again, suddenly not in the mood for it anymore. "Yeah, I figured this would happen."

Finding someone who could actually endure everything their family, and the things they were all capable of seemed unreal. Especially someone who could have so much patience. Haruhi came into their lives and tried to be that person, but she came in holding the shortest end of the stick.

It wasn't easy being apart of one family with a curse, not to mention _two_.

"It's okay," he said gently, trying to sound reassuring but failing miserably. "Whatever you said, Hikaru won't hold it against you."

"It's not _that_ ," Haruhi groaned, raising her head, and he cringed, finally getting a look at her face. Her hair wasn't brushed, her eyes were red and ringed with dark circles. They stood out against her pale skin.

It was amazing how the curse could make someone's heart be worn so openly on their sleeve.

"It's _me_. What is _wrong_ with me?" she asked, in a strain, as if it physically hurt. "I lost my job. A job I've been studying for since I was _Five_ years old. I lost my better judgement. I've prioritized him over _everything_. And... I don't even _know_ him."

Kaoru looked into her eyes, and curled his finger under her chin to turn her gaze back to him when she turned away. "What are you saying, Haruhi?"

She waited for him to drop his hand before speaking. "...I thought that if I got to know him, I could understand him. But the more time we spend together, the more I realize how different we are. And now-"

"And now, after chasing after him, no matter how many times he's pushed you away, you've realized that you weren't ready for this kind of commitment but it's too late to back out because if you _leave_ Hikaru will die and you'd rather live in an unhappy, practically falling apart, relationship than live with the guilt of his death?" He suggested, tilting his head towards her. "Did I interpret that right?"

After a few pregnant moments of silence, she shook her head slowly. " _No_."

"Well I just opened an old wound and now you've made me depressed," he said, reaching for her cup. "Whatever it is, just talk to him about it. If there's anything I've noticed watching the two of you, it's that you can't communicate without yelling at each other." He took a sip of her coffee. "The fact that you're talking to me about this instead of him _proves_ my point."

"But I _can't_."

"Because you don't think you're actually in love with him and you're afraid of telling him because it might hurt his feelings?" He scoffed, tipping back her coffee back again, hearing her unzip her hoodie. "If you just talk to each other and really discuss where you want your relationship to go, instead of fighting and just expecting each to know how you feel, maybe you'd get along better."

With mouth still full, he turned to her. She stared into his face as she pulled down the sleeve of her hoodie.

He almost choked and had to cover his mouth before he spit seeing her left shoulder, bruised purple.

" _Jesus_ , Haruhi!" he exclaimed eyes nearly bulging out of his head. "Is that what he did to you?"

"He hasn't slept in days," she explained, awkwardly pulling her sleeve back on. "Every night he wakes up _screaming,_ and last night... he was afraid of something-"

Haruhi stopped as he stood up, almost knocking over his chair. Seeing him head for the door, she grabbed his sleeve. "Kaoru-"

"He attacked you."

"It wasn't his fault."

"Stop making excuses for him." He snapped. "Do you know how hard it is keeping all these secrets? Because you two don't know how to talk to each other like normal humans beings?"

The kitchen door opened so she released his arm and turned away. "Kaoru-"

"I bet he hasn't even told you yet, has he? It's probably why he can't sleep." he tisked. "And it isn't just _him_. When are you going to grow a _spine_ _?_ You can't let him treat you like this because you feel sorry for him."

"That's enough, Kaoru."

Kaoru whirled around, his jaw tensed, immediately meeting his brother's eyes.

" _Tell_ her." He demanded.

Hikaru looked past his shoulder, towards Haruhi who put her hand up to avoid looing at him. He took a breath before looking back at his twin, who's eyes looked like they were out for blood. Particularly _his_ blood.

"Give us a minute," he whispered.

Kaoru glared, he didn't want to, but as much as he wanted to stay and monitor their talk, a loud thrum of a bell rang throughout the speakers in the ceiling. Someone was outside, ringing the doorbell.

He took a deep breath and shoved passed Hikaru, leaving a bitter chill in his wake.

Haruhi shifted awkwardly as she felt his eyes on her, but she knew the look he was giving her, and she knew she'd crack the second she saw it. She shook her head, and closed her eyes, hearing the chair, opposite from the one Kaoru had been sitting in, slid away from the table.

She turned the other direction, thinking he was going to sit , but he laid his hand of her chair and kneeled down next to her instead.

"Haruhi," he breathed and her chest tightened. "About last night..."

He refused to continue until she finally looked at him. His eyes melted seeing her expression she mustered all her strength in, to look emotionless, but he saw through her like a piece of paper.

"Haruhi, I'm so sorry."

He found one of hers hands balled up in her lap, his fingers kneading the back of her palm. They stared at each other, but when she didn't reply, he laid his chin on her leg, his eyebrows curling so far they almost touched.

"I'm really, _really_ sorry." He added. "I'd never hurt you-"

"And I thought I knew that." she managed, making him swallow his breath. "I thought I knew _you_ , but there's a part of you that I just can't wrap my head around. And _last_ _night_ -"

"I didn't mean to fall asleep." He swore. "I'll never do that again. I _promise_."

"But last night wasn't the first time, _Hikaru_ ," she retorted, but when she felt him flinch she threw herself back, taking a deep breath, "What about... what happened in Karuizawa? Or last week at my house? And you were acting really weird at the hotel, too."

He was like a Pandora's box. She knew he was filled with dangerous possibilities the first day she met him, but she was determined to crack his shell and force him to open up to her. The longer she stayed with him, the more she wanted to know about those dangerous possibilities. She wanted to know every nook and cranny of his entire being.

But as he started to open, he opened all at once, and she realized he possessed more than she was ready for, and suddenly every part, even the parts she loved, was too overwhelming.

He grew quiet, words hanging off the tip of his tongue, but he was afraid to comes to terms with the weight of what those words meant.

"This isn't going to work, is it?" he murmured, voice so vulnerable it almost cracked. "Us being together."

"It's a little late to be thinking like that now, isn't it?"

He pouted.

She untangled their fingers, and he gave his usual, broken, dejected look in his eyes as she started to thread her hand through his hair. "I love you, Hikaru."

He let out a sound close to a whimper as he turned his head in her lap. "And I love you, but-"

"I wanted this to work out."

"So do I, but-"

" _Get up_."

His mouth was open but instead of continuing, he just sighed. He did as he was told and stood up. She kicked the chair out with her foot and waited until he sat down before turning to him again. She put her arms out on the table, and he slowly laid his hands in hers. A silence feel, weighing down on the already hefty strain between them.

Hikaru shifted in his seat, feeling her hand squeeze around his, and her thumb rub over his knuckles. The distant look on her face made him feel even more guilty, and the longer she took contemplating her words, the worst his mind started to twist things around.

There was a voice, triggering a painful anxiety in his chest that made him want to crawl under the table and never look at her again.

It's only been three days, for gods sakes Hikaru, can't you do anything _right_.

Haruhi took a breath. "Hikaru-"

" _Are_ you breaking up with me?"

She chuckled. It was fascinating how far he could make his eyebrows go. "That would be the easiest thing to do."

He slumped his chin on the table. He _knew_ he shouldn't have said anything.

"But we have to be together," she said softly, "And if we're going to be together, I want us to happy."

He body dissolved into the table. One demon after another filled his head with terrible thoughts, so much it was giving him a headache. "We _are_ happy."

"Are we though?" she raised her brow, looking at him almost pitifully. "I really like you, Hikaru, but even you have to admit we jumped the gun with this relationship."

"So you _are_ breaking up with me?"

" _I don't know_ ," she sighed, praying to her mother for strength. "There's just a lot of things we need to sort out before we should... move onto that step."

He bit his lip, trying to keep in a whine. "Like what?"

"Like your sleep schedule."

"That's debatable."

"...And this really bad habit you have of lying to me." She added hesitantly.

"That's not true," he argued and squeezed her hands out of panic. "I've been honest with you this whole time."

"I know you're keeping something from me, Hikaru," she said, raising her hand, her fingers caressing his cheek, feeling herself breaking, just looking at the pain his eyes.

Now she knew what Kaoru meant by her growing a backbone.

"I won't ask you what it is, because I trust that you'll tell me when you're ready," she said.

"Don't wait up." He smirked jokingly.

But she didn't laugh, and he slouched back into the table, pouting.

"We need to learn how to be friends before we can be lovers." Her thumb rubbed under his eye, his bangs tickling her fingertips. "We need to take a step back, and learn how to understand each other, and know get to know each other. It was fun for awhile, but I can't be in love with a stranger anymore."

He didn't want to take a step back. He didn't even want to look back. They didn't have time for that. They've already come so _far_.

He opened his mouth, but instead of an argument, there was a high pitch scream.

" _Ah! Big sister!_ "

Haruhi ripped her hands away from him and shot out of her chair before even knew where it had come from. Hikaru moved to grab her arm, to keep her from leaving him, but whatever had screamed, already started to tumble through the door, falling in a heap of pink and white ruffles on the floor.

The girl hidden under the frills and petticoats flung her large blonde curls out of her face, and when she looked up, her eyes met Haruhi's eyes almost instantly.

Her eyes widened when she finally recognized her. " _Kirimi_?"

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Gosh it's been a long time.**  
 **I took a small break for this story to rewrite the ending f(or the millionth time), so don't worry! I haven't abandoned this fic yet. I've been busy with music lessons and school that I haven't found the time to fit twenty hours of writing in, but I plan to update more frequently, and to finish this story this year.**

 **P.S: Thank you everyone who has been supporting me and sending encouraging messages while I was gone! You're absolutely amazing.**  
 **P.s.s: Kaoru's favorite lollipop flavor is raspberry and he only eats raspberry cause he's a picky baby.**


End file.
